The Legend of the Princess
by rynling
Summary: Disturbed by ill omens, Zelda uncovers the fabled Ocarina of Time. As the princess sees more of the past, she begins to learn about the sinister man who has been been blown by the harsh winds of the desert into her castle. If she is wise enough to piece together the puzzles left behind in bygone ages, Zelda may be able to change both of their destinies. Zelgan with a bit of smut.
1. The Man with Golden Eyes

Zelda woke to the clear and radiant light of dawn as she struggled to free herself from the clutches of a dark nightmare. Her heart beat in her throat, and her skin was as cold as ice. Something monstrous had been reaching for her, and she had almost been caught.

As she waited for her breaths to slow, Zelda stared at the embroidery on the canopy above her bed. The twirling lines of silver thread depicted the familiar motif of the winged sky goddess Hylia, the protector of the royal family and, if the legends could be believed, Zelda's own ancestor.

 _May the Goddess grant me wisdom_ , Zelda recited in her mind. She had been taught to speak these words to herself when she was agitated. Above all things, a princess must be calm and composed, graceful and gracious.

Zelda kicked the quilt away. With her twentieth birthday soon approaching, she was expected to attend every meeting of her father's council and court, and today she would need to prepare for both. It made no sense for her to lie in bed and wait for her maids. She had appeals to consider and correspondence to complete, and she may as well get started early.

After washing her face in the small bathroom adjoining her private chamber, Zelda sat in front of her mirror and began to wind her hair into the braids that would support her cornet. The headpiece was small and unadorned, but after a full day of attending to the cares of her kingdom she would feel its weight, and if she did not twist her hair tightly it would come askew.

Zelda set the cornet into her braids, its silver reflecting a pale light she hoped would hide the dark shadows under her eyes. Her coronation ceremony was scheduled to be held in a few short weeks. It would then be announced that she would take her place on Hyrule's throne as the equal of her father Daphnes, who had married into the royal family when her mother was scarcely older than she was now. It had been her mother who had named her Zelda, supposedly after the princess in the old legends.

 _How happy I would be if I were a princess in a fairy tale_ , Zelda thought, allowing herself a moment to indulge in a fantasy of leaving the castle on her horse, a sword at her waist and her hair streaming behind her. She bit her lip to stifle a grin as she loosened two strands of hair at her temples, giving herself long sidelocks. The golden strands softened the lines of her cheeks and chin, but her mouth pulled into a frown. Her reflection had triggered a faint memory, something in the back of her mind that she couldn't quite recall.

Zelda shook her head and stood. She stepped into the split skirt that had been laid out for her and tightened its sash around her waist. She then slipped a thin chemise over her head before pulling on a long satin tunic. After latching a heavy necklace around her collarbones, she affixed a short gauze mantle to its joints, allowing it to drape over her shoulders like a cape. Zelda found the outfit ostentatious and uncomfortable, but at least it was preferable to the gown she would wear at the evening court. She glanced at the elbow-length gloves that remained on her dressing table before reaching instead for a stoppered inkwell, which she carefully placed into a leather satchel that was already heavy with paper. The light in her room was growing stronger, and she was anxious to be off before her maids entered and waylaid her with their elaborate rituals of plucking and polishing and coloring and concealing.

Instead of exiting into the hallway, Zelda pushed aside a tapestry hanging in the antechamber of her quarters. She ran her hand along the stone wall underneath it, pressing her palm against the pressure points that revealed the hinges of a secret door, which opened with a barely perceptible click.

Zelda let the fabric of the tapestry fall behind her as she stepped into the dark passage. She knew its twists and turns by heart, and she did not hesitate as she made her way down a set of stairs whose edges had been worn smooth with use. Running her fingers along the wall as she walked, she descended to the second floor of the castle and emerged from behind a life-sized portrait of one of Hyrule's past queens, a woman with rich dark hair and stern face.

She smoothed her tunic and shook the hem of her skirt before turning the corner into the corridor that ran in front of the library. The ancient room was one of her favorite places in the castle, and the mornings when she could begin her day there were precious to her.

When she stepped into the hallway, Zelda's breath caught in her throat. As she watched a dark shadow emerge from the library, she was suddenly struck with the full force of the horror that had visited her during the night. For one terrible moment, she was back in her nightmare, running as fast as she could from a tidal wave of pure black oil. There was a creature rising from the torrent, an enormous monster with burning eyes that threatened to spark the viscous liquid into an inferno.

Zelda blinked and returned to reality. Her vision cleared, and she realized that she recognized the figure standing in the hallway in front of her – it was Ganondorf, an emissary from the tribe that clung to the edges of the vast western desert. He had apparently noticed her as well, for he stood silently in one of the bays between the windows overlooking the castle gardens. He did not move as his gaze met her own, and his eyes were as golden as the sunlight that fell to the floor at his feet.

 _Bow_ , she wanted to say to him. _Bow before Hyrule's princess._

Even as the compulsion wrapped itself around her mind like fingers grasping the hilt of a sword, Zelda was shocked by her own audacity. She had never thought of herself as superior to any of the rulers of the outlying tribes, and she tried to be courteous even to her own servants, yet there was something in the man's countenance that made her want to strike him. He looked at her not with defiance, exactly, but with a certain wariness.

Zelda refused to drop her eyes, careful to keep her breathing steady and her face relaxed. Although she felt strangely vulnerable, it would not do to demonstrate anything other than calm equanimity.

Ganondorf regarded her approach with a blank expression. When she was a few steps away, he nodded to her in greeting. "Your Highness," he said, a ghost of an accent haunting his voice.

"Lord Dragmire," she responded, and in the space between syllables she saw the corner of his mouth twitch. She recognized her own self-control in the set of his jaw and realized that her presence made him uncomfortable. _Good_ , she thought, surprised by the vehemence of her pleasure.

"I did not expect to find you at the library this early in the morning," she said politely.

And indeed she had not. She had never caught a glimpse of him in broad daylight and had assumed he preferred to keep late hours. Although Ganondorf had ostensibly come to Hyrule Castle to represent the Gerudo people at her coronation, he seemed to dislike the evening courts as much as she did, and she had yet to exchange more than a few words with him.

"I was just leaving," he responded. "You will be pleased to know that you have the room all to yourself."

 _What a curious comment_ , Zelda mused, deigning not to answer him. She did feel more comfortable with solitude, but how could this man possibly have known that?

Although he was not much older than her, the light flooding through the windows revealed the harsh contours of his face and the fine lines spreading from his eyes as he looked down at her. He was immoderately tall, and his loose robe and trousers could not disguise the bulk of his body. His auburn hair was swept back from his forehead but flared out behind him into an unruly mess. He looked entirely out of place amidst the delicate furnishings and well-ordered symmetry of the castle corridor.

"If you will excuse me," he said brusquely, breaking the silence when it became clear that Zelda would not speak. He turned and paced off in the opposite direction. Zelda was not accustomed to being shown anyone's back, and the bitter sting of Ganondorf's rudeness infuriated her.

 _May the Goddess grant me wisdom_ , Zelda thought, sighing to herself.

And yet it was not wisdom the princess desired, but power. She wanted to rule Hyrule on her own terms, unhindered by the silk ropes of tradition that tied her to her role. When she ascended the throne, these bonds would only tighten around her throat. As she pushed the door to the library open, Zelda couldn't help but wonder if any of the queens who had come before her had ever found a way to cut themselves free of the threads of their fate.


	2. The Ocarina of Time

The air in the library was quiet and still. The light that made its way through the mullioned windows was pale yet bright, and the room was fragrant with the scent of leather and old paper.

Many of the books owned by the castle were old and almost incomprehensible, but Zelda had not come to read. She shrugged her satchel onto one of the austere wooden chairs positioned beside a large oak table. As she set down her pen and inkwell, Zelda noticed a few streaks in the thin layer of dust coating the table's surface. She placed the tips of her fingers onto the tracks and frowned. The marks had been left by hands much larger than hers.

Zelda had kept her eye on Ganondorf since he arrived at Hyrule Castle. There was something about him that triggered her suspicion. When his arrival at court was formally announced to her and her father, he was cordial yet distant, and he spoke the ritual phrases of loyalty to the throne in a tone devoid of warmth or feeling. Zelda had scarcely seen him eat or drink at the gatherings that had become more frequent in the weeks leading to her coronation, and he rarely conversed with anyone. Although she had little patience for such assemblies and often excused herself early, Ganondorf's attendance was clearly perfunctory. He usually limited his presence to an hour or two at most and spoke only when spoken to. He had come to the castle without a retinue; and, even more curiously, Zelda had witnessed him slipping away into Castle Town through the servants' entrances. Whatever purpose the man had in coming to Hyrule, it had little to do with finding favor in the eyes of the royal family.

Zelda let her eyes drop down to the threadbare carpet covering the floor. In the clear morning light, the scuff of footprints was faintly discernible. Zelda stood silently for several moments, listening for the presence of another person. She did not want anyone to witness her tracing Ganondorf's steps, least of all Ganondorf himself, should he return.

After confirming that she was in no danger of being interrupted, Zelda followed the tracks into the interior of the room. The light was dimmer between the towering shelves, but she was still able to locate the area of Ganondorf's interest by the disturbance of volumes on a bookcase that seemed less neglected than its neighbors.

Zelda scanned the titles on the shelves, but she was already familiar with their contents. She had often made her way to this exact location as a child. The books in front of her did not contain history or philosophy or dissertations on agricultural imports but were instead repositories of fairy tales and legends.

 _What could Ganondorf possibly be looking for_ , Zelda wondered. A memory floated to the surface of her mind, and she reached for it as if it were the string of a bright balloon.

In truth, although they had hardly exchanged more than a few dozen words since he had arrived, she and Ganondorf were not strangers to each other. They had played together as children when he had come to Hyrule with his mother, who had been the queen of the Gerudo tribe. As a boy he had been quiet and soft-spoken yet eager to master the Hylian language. Zelda suddenly recalled having lent him a book that she used to thumb through repeatedly when she was learning to read. She slowly ran her fingers across a row of book spines until the upturned edge of a slight volume caught her attention. _Ah, this is it_ , she thought.

As she pulled the book down from the shelf, Zelda experienced an unpleasant sensation in the pit of her stomach. She had once considered Ganondorf to be a friend, yet now he avoided her. Minutes ago, in the outside corridor, his regard of her had been as cold as the night wind. She felt a small stab of guilt for distrusting him, but something was clearly amiss in his behavior.

Zelda opened the book, a small codex whose linen cover still retained a bit of warmth from the sun shining onto the table where Ganondorf must have sat. The text was illuminated with hand-drawn illustrations depicting the exploits of the heroes and princesses of Hyrule as they fought all manner of dire villains and vile curses. Zelda couldn't help but smile as she flipped through the pages, recalling lazy afternoons spent reading on the padded ledge underneath a large window in her solar. Years ago, when she still wore her hair loose and unbound, such moments had not been so rare, and it had seemed as if she had all the time in the world.

A small scrap of paper dislodged itself from between the pages and drifted to the floor. Zelda marked its place in the book as she knelt to retrieve it. The blocky letters of the Gerudo script were printed in faded ink on one side of the thick mulberry paper. The words were disjointed and seemed as if they had come from a passage that had been torn away from its source. Zelda flipped the scrap over and saw the distinctive flowing waves of Gerudo cursive written in pencil lead. Although she could not read the words, the writing was beautiful, and she marveled that Ganondorf was capable of such fine and delicate handwriting.

Zelda tucked the paper into a hidden pocket of her tunic and turned her attention back to the book, folding her skirt under her as she sat on the floor between shelves. On the lower edge of the page she had marked was a fingerprint left behind in grainy lead. Higher on the page was a drawing of a large ocarina rendered in blue ink of a striking hue that must have once been exorbitantly expensive. Zelda read the text underneath the illustration.

 _and so the princess gave him one of the royal family's greatest treasures, the Ocarina of Time. This mysterious instrument, cast from a single block of ancient timeshift stone, possessed the magical ability to manipulate the flow of time. When the cerulean body of the instrument resonated with the perfect melody, the musician whose breath filled it could shape time like a potter shapes clay upon her wheel. It is said that certain notes played on the ocarina form the key to opening the door of the Sacred Realm where the Golden Power resides, radiating its divine energy into the blessed land of Hyrule. The young hero, taking the ocarina,_

Zelda shut the book. The legend was completely fanciful. The "Golden Power" mentioned in the text referred to the Triforce, the emblem of her family. It was not "divine" but merely a symbol representing the balance between the three virtues valued by the monarchs of Hyrule: a powerful will, the foresight of wisdom, and the courage to overcome adversity. Any child playing in the streets of Castle Town would know of the Sacred Realm, but it was merely that – a story for children, something for would-be heroes to quest after.

The so-called "Ocarina of Time" was an interesting addition to the legend, however. Zelda had loved this particular story as a child because her mother had owned an ocarina almost identical to the one described in the book. Although she was skilled at many instruments, she seemed to favor the ocarina, playing it for Zelda when they were alone together in the castle gardens. The old-fashioned flute seemed such an integral part of her mother that Zelda had never asked to play it herself. As a girl she had assumed that her mother's grace and charm were natural accessories to her role as queen, a position that felt impossibly far away to her.

Zelda's mother had died while on a diplomatic mission to the Gerudo Desert, and Zelda had been in such a haze of grief at the time that she had no memory of what had happened to the ocarina. She supposed she would have to ask her father. Her earliest opportunity to speak to him would be during the evening court. She knew she would have to wait until the crowd of retainers around him thinned, and she wasn't looking forward to the long night stretching ahead of her.

Zelda stood and replaced the book of legends on the shelf, careful to position its edge sticking out as Ganondorf as left it. After clapping the dust from her hands, she returned to the table by the window and sat down. She removed the stack of correspondence from her satchel and placed it beside a sheaf of blank paper. As she wet her quill, Zelda allowed her mind to return to the problem of Ganondorf. What could he have been searching for? Now that she thought about it, his mother must have died at around the same time as hers. When he first came to Hyrule Castle, he had been eager to talk with her, but after their mutual loss she had barely heard anything about him – or any of the other Gerudo, for that matter. What, exactly, had happened? Had the king avoided mentioning the diplomatic chill between the two kingdoms simply out of respect for her grief? Now that she thought about it, it was all very strange. Zelda had never considered that there might be more than a formal political connection between her mother and the Gerudo queen, but now she found that she had any number of questions about their relationship.

The tip of Zelda's quill remained suspended over the inkwell as she gazed out the window and into the garden. She would need to start writing soon, but she could not deny that she found mystery far more interesting than bureaucracy.


	3. Her Mother's Legacy

The golden light of the gaslamps cast a pleasant twilight over the great hall of Hyrule Castle. The pale lavender fabric of Zelda's gown shimmered as she made her way across the room and to a quiet space behind one of the thick marble columns rising from the tiled floor. The buzz of conversation surrounded her, echoing across the stone masonry and rising into the vaulted ceiling.

Zelda had ordered the valet assigned to her for the evening to fill her crystal glass only with sparkling water. She disliked its flat metallic taste, but the bubbles in the liquid discouraged people from asking why she wasn't drinking. Although the clerestory windows had been opened, the air inside the hall was stuffy, and she took a long sip as she scanned the crowd.

The evening's court had been called to receive a group of Zora dignitaries, but the Zora princess Ruto had not been among them. She had written to Zelda, promising to come, and Zelda wondered what could have held her. Unlike Zelda's father, the Zora king was largely a figurehead. The queen managed the business of state, and Ruto had worked alongside her mother from an early age. If the princess had not made the journey to Hyrule, it could only mean an emergency had arisen that the queen could not handle herself. Zelda made a mental note to dispatch a short note to Ruto before she retired.

Court was a ritual from a bygone era when the royal family's retainers were fewer in number and, as the leaders of their own small armies, potentially dangerous. By calling a court, the monarch summoned his or her vassals to the throne, forcing them to abandon their own affairs and provide for the expense of travel. Hyrule had been at peace for more than a hundred years, however, and such a show of dominance was unnecessary. Many of the nobles had long ago left their territorial holdings and now occupied residences in Castle Town. The Hylian monarchs were now supported by a web of bureaucrats, and Zelda's father Daphnes frequently left the castle to visit the leaders of the outlying tribes. Although attendance at court was still a matter of demonstrating allegiance, the events had become largely social in nature.

Zelda heard her father's laugh boom out from across the room. He enjoyed his place at the center of the court and used the festive atmosphere skillfully, casually laying the foundations of agreements and picking up gossip that might prove useful. Zelda enjoyed hearing the tales Daphnes told of these political games, but she had grown discontent with her own role. She was uncomfortably aware of her presentation as a potential marriage partner, and she knew that, once she had been crowned as queen, she would begin to receive proposals. Hyrule was wealthy and prosperous, and there was no need for her to accept any offer that was less than ideal. Zelda still found the notion of a royal wedding exhausting. She already had enough to worry about.

"Good evening, Princess."

Zelda froze. She hadn't heard Ganondorf approach, and she wondered where he possibly could have come from. Had he been lurking here to intercept her? She exhaled and turned to face him.

"Lord Ganondorf," she smiled. "What a pleasant surprise. I trust this evening finds you well?"

"Quite well, Your Highness. The king's hospitality is without peer."

His tone held a sardonic note that Zelda found troubling. She decided to ignore it. "Thank you for your kind words," she said, shooting her eyes to the side as she cast out for an opportunity to escape the encounter. She had let her guard down, and he had caught her at a moment when she was not prepared to engage with him. If all else failed, she would simply excuse herself. It would be rude to snub an emissary, but Zelda was well aware that civilized conversations do not play out in shadows.

"I just returned from a walk through the castle gardens," Ganondorf continued, his eyes fixed on Zelda's face. "My feet led me to the enclave in front of the library. I found the flowers there to be quite _interesting_." His voice was quiet, yet his words cut through the surrounding murmur of conversation like a knife through butter.

Zelda glanced at Ganondorf sharply. His golden eyes seemed to shine in the glow of the gaslamps, and a faint smile played at the corners of his lips. Zelda had been keen to dismiss him, but for the first time she noticed the luster of the gems on his ears and the fineness of the patterned embroidery lining the edges of his robe. Zelda noted the quality of the fabric and the cut of the tailoring, reminding herself that this man was, in the estimation of his tribe, a prince.

"I especially liked the white lilies, the ones with the faint blue rims. I wonder what they're called in Hylian...?"

 _He knows_ , Zelda thought, and then just as quickly brushed the thought away. It was impossible that anyone outside the royal family would be aware of the purpose of certain plants in the castle gardens.

"We call that varietal the 'silent princess.' It was a favorite of my mother," Zelda responded.

Ganondorf nodded. "I see, the silent princess. Quite a legendary flower. How odd that your mother appreciated them. I remember her being rather outspoken and having little use for such subtlety. Is the silent princess a favorite of yours as well?"

Zelda was taken aback. "I don't – "

"Zelda!" Her father's voice rang out as he called for her from several feet away. He had apparently come to find her, and she thanked him silently. "There's a young man over here I'd like you to meet. What are you doing, skulking around in corners?"

Zelda offered Ganondorf what she hoped appeared to be an apologetic nod. "If you will pardon me."

He gave a slight bow in return, the same thin smile still on his face.

* * *

"It should be in here somewhere," Daphnes muttered, rummaging around in a chest concealed behind an overstuffed sofa in the reading room of his private chambers. Zelda's father's rooms were as messy as hers were neat, with books and unbound documents piled on almost every surface. Zelda suspected he nurtured this chaos in order to maintain some semblance of privacy. Presumably, if not even his most intimate servants could find something, then no one else would have the slightest clue concerning where to look. Everyone had secrets to keep, and Zelda knew it was not her place to judge the measure or method.

Earlier that evening, she had taken advantage of a lull in conversation to ask her father about her mother's ocarina. He had given her a strange look and glossed over the matter, but scarcely an hour later he had announced that he would be retiring from court, and he had insisted that Zelda join the recession. Once they arrived at his quarters he dismissed the train of courtiers that accompanied them. He asked Zelda to sit while he poured them both a glass of brandy from a bottle he located effortlessly from the clutter on top of a table beside the fireplace.

Handing Zelda's glass to her, he asked, "So what's this about your mother's ocarina?"

Zelda took a sip of the amber liquid and let its warmth spread through her. She couldn't imagine where her father's question was leading, so she decided to answer him honestly, if perhaps not with the full truth.

"I remembered it as I was reading in the library this morning. An old book mentioned a legendary flute, and I recalled that mother used to have one just like it."

"Do you believe in the legend?" Zelda's father asked her. His back was turned, and she couldn't see his face.

"I suppose not, but..." Zelda responded, her words trailing off into an invitation for him to explain himself.

"Good," Daphnes said before downing his glass. "It's not healthy to dwell in the past, and this kingdom is already lousy with tradition. Still," he continued, sighing, "you have so few keepsakes from your mother. If you'd like the ocarina, it's yours."

He had then paced off to his reading room, gesturing for Zelda to follow him. She set her unfinished glass of brandy down on a side table, knowing that it would be cleared away later. For all the scattered mess in the king's chambers, there was not a single mote of dust.

Daphnes made a direct line for the half-hidden chest, which he unlocked with a small silver key that Zelda watched him withdraw from an inner pocket of his overcoat. Kneeling beside the chest, he lifted the lid and proceeded to shift through its contents. Zelda heard the dry whisper of paper and the soft rustle of fabric, and she wondered what her father was keeping tucked away.

"Ah! I knew it was here," he muttered, softly clicking the lid of the chest shut before rising to his feet. In his hand was none other than her mother's ocarina. In the low light of the candelabra illuminating the room, it seemed to be an unearthly shade of blue, and the tarnished band of gold circling its mouthpiece shone with a dull glow.

Daphnes extended his hand, and Zelda stepped forward to take the ocarina. It was warm against her skin and as light as air. She fit the pads of her fingers to its holes and considered blowing a few notes, but then she caught the pained expression on her father's face.

"I miss her," he said simply.

Still clutching the ocarina, Zelda embraced him. "I do too," she responded, although her true feelings were more complicated. She had few clear memories of her mother, and she had not allowed herself to indulge herself in fantasies of what their relationship would be like if she were still alive. As a symbol, the late queen retained her strength of presence, but Zelda knew almost nothing of who she had been as a person.

Daphnes held his daughter for a moment, patting her back before releasing her. "You take after her, you know," he said. "Everyone is expecting great things from you."

Zelda laughed. "I'll do my best," she said, infusing her voice with far more confidence than she felt.


	4. Secret Passages

"It seems the Zora's pet fish has come down with a cold," the silver-haired woman smirked, tapping her fingers against the ornamental writing desk. She sat on the delicate matching chair with her legs splayed out in front of her.

"Impa, please. This is no time for levity," Zelda responded as she paced the length of her study. The room was small and windowless, its walls paneled in dark wood.

"My apologies, Highness," Impa corrected herself, rolling her eyes. "They say their guardian deity has been cursed."

"It does sound outlandish," Zelda admitted.

"Definitely fishy business," Impa snorted.

Zelda grinned. "I'd certainly be interested to know what Ruto thinks. I suppose I'll have to wait for her to respond to my letter."

"You wrote to her?"

"Last night, after she didn't appear at court."

Impa raised an eyebrow. "It took you that long to realize she wasn't coming?"

"I was preoccupied."

"With what?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Humor me."

"Fine," Zelda shrugged. "A merchant in the east district has managed to buy a block of townhouses, which she wants to demolish so that she can build a manor. The only thing standing in her way is an old Goron who's been living there for decades and refuses to budge. Since she's been granted royal permission to establish an estate, the merchant would like there to be an eviction, which is, quite frankly, illegal."

"Who told this woman she could build a manor house right in the middle of town? I thought the privilege was reserved for the nobility."

"My father decreed that the code be lifted. He worries that the merchants will establish their own city if they're not allowed the full use of ours, and I believe he may be correct. Still, the code was put in place to prevent sudden changes to property values, and the Goron may not be the only person out of a home once construction begins."

"Sounds fascinating. Is that it?"

"I also oversaw the planning for flower arrangements for tomorrow's banquet."

"Don't you have someone else to do that for you?"

"I prefer to do it myself."

"Right. Well." Impa smirked and rose to her feet. "I suppose a princess of a certain age does need to display her feminine accomplishments. Shall we get going?"

Zelda nodded. She was grateful for an excuse to leave the castle, whose atmosphere had become oppressive after the previous evening's court.

Like Impa, Zelda was dressed in a close-fitting suit of dark indigo adorned with loose white linen gathered around her shoulders. Unlike Impa, her breasts and hair were bound, marking her as an acolyte. To a casual observer Zelda would appear as nothing more than Impa's apprentice. As such, she took the name Impaz when she assumed a Sheikah disguise.

The Sheikah were a small and secretive tribe concentrated in several small villages tucked away in the foothills of the eastern mountain range. Aside from their red eyes, they were indistinguishable from Hylians, but the Sheikah boasted a proud line of warriors, a select few of whom served the royal family. Impa had been formally appointed as Zelda's guardian at a young age, and they had known each other since they were children. When Zelda first attempted to sneak away from the castle, it had been the young Sheikah guard Impa she had turned to for guidance. Impa, who held little patience for royal protocol, had been happy to assist her. She kept the princess's secrets, from her short teenage romances to the intricate games she played against the noble daughters who slighted her at court.

Zelda's objective on this particular night was to solicit information from a tavern owner named Telma who was probably, save for the king himself, the most well informed person in Hyrule. In order to speak with Telma, Zelda would need to leave the castle; and, in order to leave the castle, she would need to ensure that her absence was not noted. She had retired early, complaining of a headache and giving strict orders to her attendants not to bother her for any reason.

Zelda followed Impa to the antechamber and through the hidden entrance into the narrow space between the castle walls. Impa was well acquainted with these corridors, and Zelda suspected that Impa knew passageways that even she was unaware of.

Almost ten years ago Zelda had discovered the secret door in her chambers one night after being dismissed from a dinner with her father and several of his advisors. The conversation between the adults had stretched on without end, and all Zelda wanted was to go outside before the sun set. Her father had gruffly responded to her visible agitation by ordering that she be confined to her quarters, where, partially out of a sense of defiance, she had attempted to climb one of the tapestries. The ream of fabric had fallen into a dusty pile with Zelda on top. As she examined the wall, trying to figure out how to fix the situation before she got into even more trouble, Zelda noticed an irregularity in the stones. As soon as she realized they were pressure points operating a rudimentary system of gears and pulleys, which she could hear whirring from inside the wall, she pushed them until she happened upon a sequence that opened the portal they controlled. The first person she told of her discovery was Impa, who had been delighted and eager to explore.

Hyrule Castle had been raised countless generations ago, and no one could give an exact date of its dedication. Zelda's former tutor, a quiet young man named Shad, had once guided her through the lines of her ancestry, which she had memorized alongside her multiplication tables. The branches of the royal family tree were tangled and unwieldy, and many names and dates were lost to the creeping amnesia of time. The accounts of the land's history were numerous and occasionally conflicting, and Zelda could only imagine how many times the castle was attacked and rebuilt. Its location on the high land rising from the crux of a river crossing was ideal, and Zelda thought it likely that its foundations had been laid over some ancient seat of power.

A new addition had been grafted onto the castle every hundred years or so, and the structure had become an odd mismatch of architectural styles drawn together by the distinctive white stone that the Gorons pulled from the mountains to the northeast. From the outside, the castle was grand and imposing. On the inside, however, it was easy to get lost, and even the staff tended to keep to the section of the castle pertinent to their duties. The royal family had not one seneschal but several, each in change of his or her own wing of the building, and it was possible that not even the Hylian kings and queens knew all the details of what transpired within the walls surrounding the castle grounds.

Zelda's rooms were located directly above the castle library, which overlooked the west gardens. Instead of exiting into the hallway running in front of the library, Zelda and Impa climbed down a set of cracked granite steps into the drainage system, from which they ascended outside into the garden, lifting a section of loose grating hidden in the grass.

Although the day had been warm, the night air was chilly, and Zelda was grateful for the quick pace Impa set as they moved north along the castle. The ornamental peach trees were just beginning to bloom, and their fluffy blossoms shone pale under the waning crescent moon. Later in the summer, the garden would be filled with the chirping of crickets and frogs, but now it was deathly still. In the distance Zelda could hear the faint metallic rattling of the hauberks worn by the castle guards, but she knew no one would notice her and Impa as they moved as silently as shadows along the raised hedges.

Directly to the north of the older section of the castle was an old wall whose stones had grown green with moss. Instead of entering the enclosure through the wrought iron gate, whose hinges had not been oiled in years, Zelda and Impa climbed the wall and slipped over its edge as smoothly as clouds crossing the moon.

Before them was a graveyard that had long since ceased to serve its function. The place reeked of neglect, its once proud tombstones spotted with lichens and leaning ever so slightly toward the ground. The grass between the monuments had grown tall, and weeds sprouted between the scattered pebbles marking the paths. An oak tree stood at the far corner of the wall, its thick roots breaking above the soil. It had not been tended or pruned, and its lower branches drooped into the underbrush.

Zelda and Impa carefully made their way to a large tombstone at the tree's base. The crumbling granite was inscribed with old Hylian letters too eroded to read. Directly in front of the tombstone was a bare patch of earth set with three large round river rocks arranged in a perfect triangle.

Zelda had once been brought to this exact spot by her mother, who had revealed a bit of her magic, singing to open a passage leading outside the castle walls. The young princess had been struck with wonder, amazed to see such a thing, but her mother had treated the matter with utmost practicality, as if she were explaining nothing more than how a farrier shoes a horse. The queen had brushed aside Zelda's questions but assured her daughter that the passage was hers to use should she ever need to escape the castle.

"But why would I need to escape?" Zelda had asked.

Her mother had given her a knowing smile. "You'll know when the time comes," she said, winking. Before Zelda could ask her anything else, she knelt and began tickling her under her arms, causing her to erupt in laughter.

In a clear and bright voice that might almost be mistaken for the call of a wild bird, Zelda sang the refrain of the song her mother had taught her. The ground around the triangle shimmered and vanished as if it had only been a mirage. It was replaced by large slabs of veined marble that formed an uneven staircase descending into the earth.

Zelda knew from frequent experience that the passage led down into the sewers running under the castle. By proceeding south through the waterway, she and Impa could bypass the walls and gates and guards on their way into Castle Town. There were any number of unpleasant creatures lurking in the darkness, but Zelda was armed, and she was not alone.

Impa stood at the top of the stairs and gestured impatiently.

"After you, Princess," she said, grinning.


	5. Whispers of Dischord

Telma's Bar was, in a word, disreputable. It occupied the basement of a tenement building, and it could only be accessed by way of an alley leading away from the market and down a perilous set of stairs that spilled out into a sunken courtyard paved with grimy stones. According to a city ordinance, taverns were to shut their doors with the changing of the midnight guard, and when revelers and miscreants were kicked out of other establishments they came to Telma's.

Telma was a large woman with a large voice who could silence an unruly crowd with one fierce look, and her tavern had been in operation for years simply because there was not a man or woman in Hyrule who could shut it down. There were all manner of rumors about Telma – that she was half Gerudo, that she was half Goron, that she was half Moblin, that she wasn't from the kingdom at all – but what was certain was that she was not a person to be crossed. Telma extended her hospitality to anyone who needed it, but Hylia help the unfortunate wretch who managed to incur her wrath.

Knowing that they would be able to conduct their business in peace, an odd assortment of people routinely turned up at Telma's Bar, from caffeinated students to truant soldiers to feckless gamblers to travelers ill at ease in their lodgings. Gossip flowed as freely as beer, and one could hear any number of tall tales for the price of a glass of ale. If Zelda and Impa were going to uncover information about Ganondorf anywhere, it would be here.

The tavern spread out into several rooms, but Impa went straight to the bar, where she parked herself a short distance from a middle-aged Zora who was perched on a stool next to a Goron and drinking like a proverbial fish. Impa was a regular, and a young woman immediately slid over from behind the bar and greeted her by name. Impa raised two fingers, and the girl quickly returned with two glasses of dark frothy beer. Zelda wondered how old she was and what she was doing in a place like this. Meanwhile, Impa was already wiping foam from her lips, so Zelda pushed down the linen covering her mouth and took a sip herself.

Even though it was late, the tavern buzzed with conversation, and Zelda had trouble picking up individual voices. She shot a glance to her left at Impa, whose attention appeared to be fixed on the Zora. Zelda looked to her right, where a hooded figure was drinking by herself. Judging by the elaborate embroidery on her cloak and the golden rings on her fingers, she was a Gerudo. Zelda felt a strange chill run down her spine and looked back toward Impa.

" – and it's been a mess ever since," the Zora said, setting down his empty glass.

"That sounds like a pain in the ass. No one knows what happened?" the Goron asked before popping a piece of paving gravel into his mouth.

The Zora tapped his slender fingers against the bar. "All I know are rumors," he responded as his facial fins drooped.

"I'd be interested to hear these rumors," Impa broke into the conversation. She signaled to the barmaid, who dutifully picked up the Zora's empty mug and took it to be refilled.

"I don't like to spread gossip..." the Zora began.

"Go on," Impa prompted.

The girl behind the bar plunked a full glass of beer in front of the Zora, who drank deeply before continuing.

"I could probably get in hot water for saying this, but everything started around the time that Gerudo started sneaking around," he eventually said, keeping his voice low. "He was a male too, which is something you don't see every day. Of course we get Gerudo traders around Zora's Fountain, and Gerudo herbalists coming for water and riverweeds, but he didn't seem to be with any of them. Some people even say he seemed to be avoiding them. Now isn't that strange," the Zora asked rhetorically before taking another long sip of his beer.

"So you think the male Gerudo has something to do with Jabun's illness," Impa suggested.

"I'm telling you," the Zora responded, making a superstitious warding gesture with his hand, "it's not an illness, it's a curse. Lord Jabun isn't the sort of creature that gets sick."

"I would imagine," Impa nodded.

"No one liked the look of that Gerudo," the Zora continued. "People say it seemed like he was angry about something. Not that he was with us for long, but word gets out if a guy looking like that is skulking around."

"I'm sorry," Zelda interjected, "and I don't mean to be rude, but if there were so many people keeping such a close eye on this man, wouldn't someone have noticed if he got close to Lord Jabun? The last I checked, Jabun kept to himself in the sacred lake higher upstream. Are you sure you all aren't just looking for someone to blame? I mean – "

Zelda cut herself off, suddenly embarrassed, but the Zora laughed and took another sip of beer.

"You're probably right," he admitted, "but the Gerudo is an easy target. I didn't see him myself, but they say he had a cursing look about him."

The Goron sitting on the other side of the Zora turned his head toward them. "Now that you mention it," he rumbled, "I hear there was a surly looking Gerudo up on Death Mountain recently. I don't know what this person was doing, or whether it was a man or a woman, but almost no one climbs up beyond the beaten path to the city. There's nothing on the mountain that would be of use to anyone besides us, so I didn't pay any attention to the rumors, but it makes you wonder."

"It does indeed," a voice spoke up from Zelda's right, startling her. Her hand jerked slightly, spilling a bit of beer from her glass onto the scarred wooden surface of the bar. Zelda glanced up, trying to keep her face neutral.

The Gerudo woman standing beside her had pushed back the hood of her cloak, revealing deep russet hair pulled back into a high ponytail. Her amber eyes were fringed with metallic lime eyeshadow that gleamed in the low light of the storm lanterns perched on the shelves behind the bar. The Gerudo directed a slight smile toward Zelda before addressing Impa.

"I'm also curious about the source of this gossip," she said. "There's only one man I know who fits these descriptions, and he should be at Hyrule Castle."

"Hmmm..." Impa considered the woman's statement. "And that would be the emissary. Would someone like him be capable of cursing a demigod?"

The Gerudo woman laughed. "Putting the matter of curses aside, it would take some serious magic to make the trip to Zora's Fountain and be back to the castle in time for dinner."

"For what it's worth," the Zora interjected, "this man is supposed to have been lurking around at night."

"Same here," the Goron added.

"I can't see how that makes much difference," Zelda jumped in. "It's impossible that anyone would be able to warp space and time like that."

The Gerudo woman looked momentarily surprised at Zelda's statement, but then she smiled. "Impossible it may be, but if anyone could do it, it would be Ganondorf. He's been trained in magic since he was a boy, and who knows what he's capable of now."

"Do all of the Gerudo know magic?" Impa asked her, smiling as if the concept were laughable.

The Gerudo woman grinned at Impa. "Only enough to get by in the desert," she said, withdrawing a rolled cigarette from a pocket of her cloak. She held it to her lips with her left hand and raised her right. To Zelda's surprise, a tiny flame appeared above her forefinger.

Suddenly a large hand smacked the counter. "No smoking next to the bar, Nabooru. You know that."

The hand and voice belonged to Telma, who had found her way over to them while Impa and the woman apparently named Nabooru were talking. As Zelda nodded a greeting, she noticed the Zora and the Goron stand up and move to a table deeper in the tavern. Not that Zelda blamed them. Telma was an imposing presence, standing well over six feet tall. Her huge arms were crossed in front of her, and a stern look was carved onto the striking features of her face.

"My bad," Nabooru apologized, twisting her wrist with a flourish and making both the flame and the cigarette disappear.

A smile crept over the corners of Telma's mouth as her eyes softened. "I know how you like to show off for the cute ones," she said, winking at Impa.

"Telma, you old goat. You flatter me," Impa said as she raised her glass in a mock toast.

Telma waved her hand at Impa and then looked directly at Zelda before speaking.

"This Gerudo boy you're asking about, he's been in here too. He keeps to himself, but wouldn't you know it, he sure perks up when anyone mentions the princess. If she's curious about this man, I think she should consider talking to him in person."

Zelda could feel herself blushing, so she looked away and took a sip of beer. She drank too fast and almost choked. As she coughed in embarrassment, she could sense Impa and Nabooru smiling over her head. She wondered, not for the first time, if perhaps she wasn't cut out for this sort of subterfuge.


	6. All That Glitters

Pinpricks of light glittered on the crystal chandeliers hanging above the great hall of Hyrule Castle. These chandeliers had recently been installed to replace the oil lamps that used to hang from wrought iron sconces attached to the columns stretching up to the lofty ceiling. As the space began to see more frequent use, the heat and odor of burning oil had been declared unsanitary and impractical, and the king had commissioned gaslight fixtures that would showcase the marvels of modern technology.

The most magnificent of the new chandeliers was suspended above the dais supporting the thrones, where Zelda's father chatted with a circle of nobles. Zelda knew she should be standing with him, but the dancing would begin soon, and she needed to clear her head.

She had no illusions about the purpose of the evening. She was a princess of a certain age, and it was high time for her to enter into a marital engagement. She understood that it was in her best interests to use the evening to begin making advances toward suitable candidates, but she was distracted, her mind occupied with thoughts of the Gerudo emissary. Rumors buzzed around him like flies around an open storm grate. Zelda resolved to approach him and determine the veracity of these rumors for herself. Had they not once been friends, of a sort?

Men of high rank had come all the way from distant Holodrum and Labrynna to attend her coronation, and even the Duke of Ordon had made a show of introducing his son despite the fact that the boy was far too young to consider marriage. Others were too old, and some were already married. Zelda had been forced to spend hours in preparation to meet these men. Her hair had been brushed into a high sheen, and a light dusting of powder had been applied to her face. She had been misted with a perfume blended to suggest the gardenias blooming outside in the gardens before being adorned with a jeweled pendant and matching tiara that she vaguely remembered having seen her mother wear years ago. The process sorely tried her patience.

As she gestured to one of the servingmen circulating around the room, Zelda flexed the ring finger of her right hand. She had begun to practice playing the cerulean ocarina her father had given her, but her fingers were too clumsy to handle more than a few simple songs. Tuning the instrument was almost impossible, and it squawked all too frequently. She would need more practice, if only she could find the time for it.

The servingman approached her, but then his eyes grew wide. To Zelda's surprise, he bowed and walked swiftly away from her.

"You seem thirsty," a voice spoke from behind her. She turned to find Ganondorf offering her a glass of water.

"I – " Zelda's breath caught in her throat, but she forced herself to remain calm. "Thank you," she managed, taking the glass. She found herself at a loss for words, so she took a sip. The water was clear and cool.

"I've noticed you don't indulge in drink at court," Ganondorf said. "Don't you enjoy these little parties?"

"Well," Zelda forced a laugh, "they're not quite parties for us, are they? It always pays to keep one's wits. Surely you must abstain in such gatherings among the Gerudo."

"The night is precious to us. Any business that cannot be concluded in the light of day is not fit to be spoken of by moonlight."

"How... interesting," Zelda murmured as she looked away. At the edge of the hall the violinists had begun tuning their strings. She remembered her resolution and summoned a smile to her face.

"Say, Ganondorf."

He raised his eyebrows, apparently surprised by her use of his name.

"The other day, in front of the library... I'm afraid I was rude to you. It was early, and this is embarrassing to admit, but I had just woken from a terrible dream. I was out of sorts, and I didn't greet you as I should have. It's been so long since we've seen each other, and – "

Zelda was interrupted when the small orchestra struck its first note. When the people in the hall moved to clear the floor, she realized that she would be expected to lead the first dance. She met Ganondorf's eyes, and he held out his hand. _Why not_ , Zelda thought, and took it.

Zelda could hear murmurs from the assembled crowd as Ganondorf walked her across the tiled floor. Glancing at him from the corner of her eye, she saw that his face was fixed in a pleasantly neutral smile. Not to be outdone, she held her head high and did her best to appear graceful as he swept her into a starting position. The difference in their heights should have made this ungainly, but Ganondorf held her lightly and allowed her to keep enough distance to maintain her balance.

After they had taken their first steps, other couples joined them on the floor, and Zelda allowed herself to relax. Ganondorf was a skilled dancer, effortlessly guiding her within the spinning circles of bodies. As people whirled by, she noticed that she and her partner were being stared at, but she found that she didn't care. People had been staring at her all evening. Though everyone complimented her, Zelda knew that they were judging every aspect of her appearance, and she had become desensitized to their sharp eyes and critical glances. What good did it do her to worry, anyway? Until Ruto arrived, she was the only princess in the room.

Zelda was so absorbed in her musings that she almost didn't notice when Ganondorf spoke.

"Things have changed in this castle since I was last here," he said.

"My father has embraced change," she responded. "He's always telling me that he's not a big believer in tradition."

"Surely not all traditions should be forgotten? Even under gaslights, the steps of this dance do not change. If they had, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the pleasure of your company."

Zelda laughed. "Please forgive me for saying this, but you are mistaken. The steps shift with the fashion of the time. You must have learned them recently."

"You have the best of me. I did learn recently, so that I might attend your coronation."

"That is quite kind of you, Lord Dragmire."

At her use of his title, the smile on his face faltered slightly.

"I regret that I was not able to attend your own ceremony," she said softly.

"We are nothing more than a suzerainty, Princess. Your presence would have been unseemly," he replied. His smile had disappeared.

Zelda cast out for a means to alleviate the tension. "Oh, but I should have insisted on being allowed to make the journey. I haven't had many chances to travel beyond the city walls, and I'd like to hope that my presence would not have been too much of a burden on the hospitality of the Gerudo. Although surely I'm doing your people a disservice by keeping you here at the castle..."

Zelda knew she was rambling. She needed to change the topic, and quickly. "Unless perhaps you've come to court me?" she attempted.

Ganondorf's face twisted. "A marriage won't save Hyrule from what's coming," he scowled, "and if your father wants change, then by the gods, he will have it."

Zelda's blood turned to ice. "What... What are you talking about?" she stammered.

In an instant, the weight of Ganondorf's hands on her back and shoulder had become unbearably oppressive. Zelda was on the verge of breaking away from him when, mercifully, the song ended. It took every ounce of her willpower not to flee.

Before he released her, Ganondorf bent down and spoke directly into Zelda's ear. "All of the answers are in the past," he whispered. "As in the past, Hyrule will burn."

Zelda was repulsed by Ganondorf's words, and the touch of his breath on her skin made her shudder. And yet, as terrible as it was, the image of Hyrule Castle burning filled her with a strange sense of excitement. She felt paralyzed as her heart beat into her throat.

Ganondorf pulled away from her, holding her hand as he performed a courtly bow to thank her for the dance. Once again his face bore a smile. Despite herself, she was struck by how gracefully he moved, and the memory of his surprisingly delicate handwriting floated into her mind.

Ganondorf squeezed Zelda's fingers lightly before letting her go, and she was visited by a sudden intuition that she needed to work harder to understand the meaning of her mother's ocarina. Why had this man been searching for it in the library? What if it were truly a vessel for some sort of powerful magic?

As soon as she was free, Zelda turned away from Ganondorf. She refused to allow herself to be upset by his unprompted and dramatic insinuations before she had time to reflect on his words. She would spend the rest of the evening at her father's side, playing the role that was expected of her until the wine stopped flowing and the gaslamp chandeliers were finally extinguished for the night.

 _But when the sun rises_ , she decided, _I'll talk to Link_.


	7. Swifter Than Thought

Zelda ran through the castle corridors, her feet flying along the carpets laid down over the old stone floors. The sun had begun to shine through the eastern windows, and Zelda's shadow ran behind her. She had lingered too long over her morning tea, and she needed to hurry if she wanted to catch Link.

The twisting hallways branched into tangles of intersections, but Zelda knew the way to the riding grounds as surely as she knew any path through the castle. This is where the guards trained, and she used to visit on a daily basis to practice fencing and archery with Impa.

The stables were cared for by Darknuts, a tribe from the south known for their tradition of animal husbandry. They rarely entered the castle itself, apparently preferring to sleep and eat in the open air. An older Darknut named Barghest, whose dark coat had already begun to fade to gray around his muzzle, had always been kind to Zelda. Most of the members of his tribe had left the castle in recent years, but Barghest remained, and he had begun to take on Hylian apprentices. Link, who hailed from the northern border of Ordon Province, was one of them.

Like the Darknuts, Link had a way with animals. He could also play any instrument, and Zelda had often found him singing to the horses in the stables as if he were speaking with them. Link was infamous for sleeping until noon, but Zelda knew this was because he kept the same schedule as the creatures under his care. If she wasn't too late, she would be able to catch him before his morning nap.

Although they had only known each other for just shy of two years, Link had struck up a friendship with Zelda. He'd also managed to charm Impa, and the two of them often sparred at dusk while Zelda was busy at court. The young man said he had been a goatherd on a small ranch before coming to the castle, but his familiarity with a blade caused Zelda to wonder if this was really true. There had always been reports of aggressive wildlife in the southern forests, but there was something about Link's skill that suggested more than a simple ranch hand fending off keese in the night. Despite his easygoing nature, Zelda had always felt that there was something dangerous about Link. She couldn't put her finger on it, but he had something of the same air about him as Ganondorf. Still, if he volunteered no information about himself, she would not ask.

On emerging from one of the side entrances to the castle, Zelda was greeted by Barghest, who was sweeping the dirt in front of the main stable building.

"Good morning, Your Highness," he called out, raising a hand in a wave before bowing his head.

"It's already starting to get warm, isn't it," she returned his greeting, bowing her head in turn.

"We've got a colt that's been giving us trouble," he remarked, gesturing with his claw. "If you're looking for Link, he's in the south shed."

Zelda thanked him and made her way to one of the smaller structures surrounding the riding grounds. She heard Link before she saw him. He was perched on a stool with his back to her, strumming a guitar and humming to the colt in the penned enclosure in front of him. Not many people played the guitar in Hyrule, and Zelda wondered where Link could possibly have picked it up.

"Good morning, farm boy," she raised her voice to get his attention. "Fancy seeing you awake this early."

Link turned, his piercing blue eyes sparkling in the shaft of sunlight that streamed in through an open window. He grinned and stood, never missing a beat in his song.

"Ah, fair princess," he addressed her, "have you come to be serenaded by your humble stable hand? What will the king think, to know that his daughter is in love with her servant?"

"His heart will break, but I'm sure it will heal in time," Zelda said, smiling as she rummaged in her satchel for the ocarina. She withdrew it and presented it to Link. "I came to ask if you've ever seen anything like this."

He stopped playing his guitar, laying his hand across the strings to silence them before carefully placing the instrument on his stool.

"Sure," he said, and nodded. "It's an ocarina, and it looks to be a fine one at that." He held out his hand, and Zelda passed it to him.

"Usually these things are made of wood or clay," Link continued as he examined the instrument, "but I've never seen anything like this. Any idea where it came from?"

Zelda shrugged. "It belonged to my mother. Other than that, I couldn't say."

"A priceless family heirloom, no doubt," Link laughed. "And here I am, getting my dirty fingerprints all over it. Do let me know in advance the next time you come bearing riches."

"Can you play it?"

"But of course." Link held the mouthpiece to his lips and blew. The ocarina made a sound like a dying cucco. The colt in the pen let out an irate bray in response. Link frowned and tried again, and this time a low and mellow whistle emerged. He moved his fingers across the holes at the top of the instrument as he progressed through a series of scales. After a few missed notes, he seemed to get the hang of it. Meeting Zelda's eyes, he played the chorus of a filthy drinking song popular among the Zora.

Zelda applauded his performance. "How do you do that?" she asked.

"Practice," Link replied, gazing intensely at the ocarina as he turned it over in his hands. "Practice, and innate genius. The more important question is, why is someone like you coming to someone like me about something like this? And might I say, this is beautifully made. I don't suppose I could persuade you to let me keep it? As a reward for all my years of faithful service?"

"Afraid not."

"A pity," Link sighed. He returned the ocarina to Zelda, making a dramatic show of being unable to part with it.

As she took it from him, Zelda's eyes returned to the guitar sitting on Link's stool.

"Say," she began, "have you had any encounters with the Gerudo emissary?"

"Encounters?" Link arched an eyebrow. "Only as many as I can get. Have you seen the bone structure of that man's face? You could slice bread with his cheekbones."

"Blessed Nayru, Link. Be serious. Have you talked with him?"

"Talked? Not as such, no. I've been too busy watching him stride around in those loose trousers he wears. Why do you ask?"

As ridiculous as Link could be sometimes, he had always been discrete, and he was the only other person in the castle who knew about Impaz. Zelda decided that she could trust him. There was no need to waste time getting to her point.

"I had a strange conversation with Sir Dragmire yesterday evening. He told me, in his exact words, that 'Hyrule will burn.'"

"How... bizarre. That sounds awkward," Link responded.

Startled, Zelda let out a laugh. "It was! And it truly came out of nowhere. On top of that, there have been rumors about a Gerudo man on Death Mountain and in Zora's Fountain. That's why I'm asking you if you've noticed anything unusual about him."

"Aside from his gorgeous hair?"

"Has he been coming and going at odd hours?"

Link exhaled. "Coming and going? No. He keeps desert hours, and he dotes on that gigantic black mare of his, but I haven't seen him leave. The strangest thing about him is that he's always alone. This man is a prince, right?"

"I believe he's considered a king."

"So much the better, but it's highly unusual, the way he keeps to himself. Every gentleman or noblewoman who keeps even the smallest goshawk in the aviary needs an entourage of at least half a dozen people to fly the bird, but Ganondorf only enjoys his own company. His surliness puts even your standoffishness to shame."

"I'm not standoffish."

"Whatever you say, Princess. I'm simply suggesting that it strikes me as weird that he has no attendants or acquaintances. I can imagine that rumors would spread about someone like him, especially since he's so... striking."

Zelda made a noncommittal sound of agreement. She had thought the same thing herself, and she had struggled to find an explanation. It was true that no one had been particularly friendly to Ganondorf, but it was also true that there were no other Gerudo at court. This had bothered her when she noticed, as she remembered things being different when she was younger. She'd meant to ask her father what had changed, but she hadn't yet gotten a chance. It was most unusual that no one had approached Ganondorf seeking friendship, especially since the Gerudo controlled the western trade routes through the desert and were famously wealthy. Even more peculiar was that Link, who could and would strike up a conversation with anyone, had only watched Ganondorf without ever trying to speak with him. It was all very curious.

"In any case," she changed the subject, "if I wanted to learn how to play this ocarina, how would you recommend that I go about doing so?"

Link fixed her with a searching look for a moment, but then he shrugged. "The ocarina is an old-fashioned instrument. Only farmers and shepherds still play them, but from what I understand they used to be quite popular at court. If the stories I grew up with can be believed, every hero and princess played an ocarina, or something like it. I wouldn't be surprised if there are songbooks in that library of yours, probably shelved right next to the fairy tales."

"Oh!" Zelda gasped. Link was right – he was exactly right. In fact, there was a short list of songs in the back of the book that Ganondorf had been reading. How could she have forgotten?

Suddenly filled with a compulsion to check the book again, Zelda quickly excused herself, pretending not to notice Link's confusion. She would explain everything to him later, when the time was right, but at the moment her suspicions seemed too far-fetched. Assuming that her mother's ocarina was a legendary instrument of power, could playing the right song in the right way really grant her the power to manipulate time? Although the notion was ridiculous, Zelda's mother had taught her a number of songs with magical properties, and she remembered that Ganondorf had also been skilled with magic as a child – sometimes annoyingly so. As she remembered how his fingers moved when he had once invoked fire on a dare, she could almost feel his breath in her ear as he had whispered that Hyrule would burn. What had he been trying to tell her?

Zelda rushed back to the library along a route that she knew would be deserted. She felt herself drawn to the old book in the library, and she couldn't stand the thought of being interrupted before it was in her hands again. A princess must be calm and composed, but there was nothing stately or regal about her as she ran down the castle corridors, delighting in the way the oil portraits and bay windows seemed to slide by her.

When she arrived at the library, she slipped through the doors, allowing them to close softly behind her. She made her way between the shelves, her feet leading her directly to the records of ancient legends. After locating the slim volume she had so recently consulted, she withdrew it from its place and flipped past the words and illustrations, going straight to the end of the book. There she found several songs, which were drawn not as notes on a scale but as a series of finger positions on the holes of an ocarina. Her eyes jumped to a short piece titled "Song of Time." Although the ink had faded into the jaundiced paper, it seemed to glow in the faint light filtering through the stacks.

Zelda took out her ocarina. She was excited to play it, but when she put the instrument to her lips she found that it was difficult to read the notation and move her fingers at the same time. Her first few attempts to make it to the end of the song were clumsy, and she would have been mortally embarrassed had anyone been around to hear her. As she focused her attention and repeated the song, over and then over again until she could play it from memory, she began to lose herself in the melody.

The music flowed within her and lifted her spirit. Her fingers began to move almost of their own accord, and her eyes drifted back to the pages of the book. The next piece, "Song of the Hero," seemed to float in the air in front of her. Without thinking, she wove its notes into the Song of Time, and her playing rang out as smooth and as rich as if she were singing in her own voice.

As the last note resonated on her tongue and under her fingers, Zelda was struck by an overwhelming sense of vertigo. In an instant, her body seemed unanchored and weightless, as if the floor of the library had fallen away from under her feet. In desperation, she closed her eyes, and she felt the world shift around her. The sensation was delicate and subtle, but the change was palpable, like remembering something that had once been lost.

When Zelda opened her eyes, the fine traces of magic still lingered on her skin like gossamer. She was standing between the towering bookshelves of the library, but everything was different.

 _Where am I?_ she thought to herself, but she knew the answer. A more pressing question immediately inserted itself into her mind. _When am I?_


	8. A Zelda to the Past

Zelda opened her eyes to find herself still in the library, yet everything was different. Instead of old paper, the room smelled of tanned leather. The books on the shelves were less haggard, the gilt lettering of their titles brighter. The collection of legends that Zelda had propped up against a row of spines as she played was gone, as was her satchel.

Something about the quality of the light in the room seemed innately wrong. Placing the ocarina on the shelf in front of her, Zelda walked toward the high windows set into the wall by the door. The sky beyond the glass was a brilliant crimson, and black smoke hovered like a malevolent cloud beyond the wall surrounding the castle garden. It was the landscape of a nightmare.

The light shifted, and Zelda caught a glimpse of the reflection mirrored on the surface of the window. She gasped as her heart leapt in her throat. Instead of her own familiar image, a stranger was staring back at her – or no, not a stranger. Zelda touched her fingertips to the windowpane, tracing the curve of her jaw. She could swear that she had seen this face somewhere before. She tilted her head and frowned, and suddenly she knew who was looking back at her.

The face overlaid onto the red sky was that of the queen whose portrait hung on the wall in the corridor outside the library. Zelda remembered the painted figure as having stern eyes and harsh lines etched across her face. The silver glint of the chevron-shaped diadem half hidden by her dark hair confirmed that she was still a princess, as nothing less than gold would have been worn by a full monarch in Hyrule's medieval age. She must be a younger version of the queen in the portrait, then. This woman had been a Zelda as well, known to history as the ruler who ushered in an era of enlightenment and rationality after a terrible war. If she had indeed slipped into the body and identity of this renowned historical figure, that would mean she had jumped more than two hundred years into the past.

Zelda was struck with a sense of vertigo, and she looked down at her hands to steady herself. Her nails were bitten almost to the quick, and her knuckles were raw and chapped.

This was too much to take in. She turned away from the window and sat down at the oak table. In the strange light she could clearly see the rough grain of the wood, which appeared to have been newly cut. She ran a hand across its surface and winced when a splinter pierced the tip of her index finger. Exhaling slowly, Zelda carefully extracted the needle of wood. Her mind raced. This could not possibly be real, yet here she was.

As a girl, Zelda had been visited by odd dreams. The night before her eighth birthday, she dreamed of a herd of wild horses, their manes streaming in the wind as they ran. The next day, she hadn't been surprised in the least by her father's pronouncement that she would finally be allowed to receive riding lessons. She could predict the first thunderstorm of summer and the exact day the apples on the trees in the orchard would ripen and lose their bitterness. No lost object could stay hidden from her, and she always had a sense of when letters would arrive. At times, her dreams were as real to her as the waking world, and when she was younger it had occasionally been difficult to differentiate between what she had seen with her eyes and what she had only seen in her mind. She had been warned about her dreams, gently by her mother and more cautiously by her father. Children her own age, girls close to her in blood and rank, had ridiculed her, saying that she was only playing at being special, that being a princess was not enough for her.

The only person who had ever given her dreams serious consideration was Ganondorf. He had been a quiet boy, and Zelda was embarrassed to recall that she had taken advantage of his silence to talk his ears off. He had always listened to her, even when the dreams she related to him were strange and frightening. He would help her interpret the elements of what appeared to her in her nightmares, stumbling over words as he did his best to describe the symbolism of Gerudo folklore in her language.

 _How earnest he was, and how kind_ , Zelda mused. She could not deny that there was something about their recent conversations that she found unnerving, but he had done nothing to harm her. She had treated him poorly by avoiding him. "All of the answers are in the past," he'd said. This cryptic statement troubled her, but it was entirely possible that he understood something that was out of her reach. Perhaps he could help her make sense of this bizarre vision she was currently experiencing. Was this nothing more than another dream, or had she truly gone back in time?

Regardless, while she was here – while she was _now_ – she may as well make the best of it. Zelda pushed her chair away from the table. She couldn't deny that this opportunity to witness history with her own eyes excited her. As she stood, she glanced at the red sky through the window once again and lamented her tendency to jump to the worst conclusion. Although the lurid sky and billowing cloud of smoke were undeniably out of the ordinary, there need not be anything sinister going on. There could just be a festival in Castle Town, some sort of celebration with fireworks, or a bonfire, or...

Suddenly the doors of the library burst open.

Startled, Zelda jumped back. As she grabbed the edge of the table for balance, another splinter dug itself into her palm, but she barely noticed the pain. Striding through the doorway was none other than Link.

"Your Highness," he addressed her, kneeling.

Your Highness? When had Link ever said such a thing? When had he ever knelt in front of her? It took Zelda a moment to realize that the young man could not possibly be Link. His eyes were the same shade of radiant blue, but they cast a hard glint. The line of his lips and the set of his jaw belied none of Link's good humor, and there was a long scar running down his cheek. His hair was greasy and matted, and his tunic was speckled with what Zelda hoped was mud.

She had no idea how she should respond to him. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

He opened his mouth and closed it, his eyebrows furrowing in consternation.

"Your Highness?" he ventured, apparently not understanding her response.

"Right," Zelda said, realizing that she would have to play the part of her ancestor. She coughed, then continued, "Rise, Sir Knight, and pray deliver your report."

The young man who was not Link stood. "The Demon King is at the gate," he said. "He has come alone, announcing that he wishes to parlay with you, and that he delivers an offering to signify his intentions."

Here he paused, waiting for her to speak.

"I understand. I guess..." Zelda swallowed. Her fears about the unnatural color of the sky had been confirmed. She could not imagine a more awful situation. She had only the most tenuous grasp on who she was supposed to be, and now she had to preside over a war?

"Take me to him," she corrected herself. "There is no time to waste."

"Very well, Highness," the young man replied, his voice soft and sad. He looked as if he were about to say something else, but he desisted. When he turned to hold the door open for her he moved with the same fluid grace as the Link she had just spoken with earlier that morning. Zelda wished she could ask him for his name, but it was not the time, though she dearly wished to remain in the quiet haven of the library instead of facing whatever was waiting for her outside the castle gate.

As soon as she stepped across the threshold into the hallway, Zelda was confronted with the statue of Hylia standing in the alcove. The marble was coated in a thick layer of dust, as if it hadn't been polished for years, if not decades. Instead of radiating divine benevolence, the statue seemed to be grimacing. Zelda looked away. _May the Goddess grant me wisdom_ , she prayed.

She set the pace through the castle corridors, which were devoid of their familiar carpets. There was no glass in the windows lining the hallways, and the flames of the torches set into the walls flickered in the breeze. Zelda's footfalls rang out against the naked stone of the floor, while the young knight moved behind her with only the barest metallic rustling of the chain mail under his tunic.

When they arrived at the overlook facing the front gate of the castle wall, Zelda was dismayed to find that the approach was lined by several rows of soldiers, many of whom were injured, the blades of their glaives tarnished and chipped. The dull metal of their breastplates appeared almost black in the eerie dimness created by the smoke rising from Castle Town. The air was thick with ash, which stung Zelda's eyes and burned her throat as she caught her breath.

She walked to the parapet lining the top of the castle's inner wall and placed her hands on the crenellations as she looked down. From this vantage point, she could tell that the enclosed space was much smaller than the front courtyard of her own time. The outer wall of the castle must have been rebuilt at some point. Zelda's stomach sank as she realized the implications of this observation. Before the new wall had gone up, it must have been torn down. The splinter in her palm had already begun to hurt, but she ignored it as she straightened her back and prepared to address the assembly below.

"Allow the Demon King to enter." The words left her mouth before they had even formed as thoughts in her mind. "We will see what plea he offers, and we shall treat with him accordingly."

Zelda raised an arm over her head, wondering whether it had truly been her who delivered this proclamation, or whether it was a trace of the princess whose body she now shared. Regardless, her command carried weight, and a pair of soldiers on either side of the fortified castle gate signaled to one another as they operated its pulley system. The creak of the wood against the iron chains filled Zelda with dread.

When the massive door had been fully raised, Zelda could finally see the dark figure lurking on the other side of the wall. Through the smoky haze he was nothing more than the outline of an impossibly large man, but she had no trouble perceiving the huddled lumps on either side of his path. Zelda was appalled that so much death could come at the hands of one person.

"Archers," she said softly. The twin lines of soldiers standing to either side of her readied their arrows. Zelda wondered why the man hadn't already been shot down, but all extraneous thought was chased from her mind as the dark figure began to move inexorably forward.

The assembly was silent as the man walked through the archway of the ancient gate. He wore a full suit of armor as black as obsidian. From his shoulders hung a cape that was so heavy it barely fluttered. Zelda squinted to make out his face. As he drew closer, his features swam into focus, and she had to brace herself against the stone of the castle ramparts for support.

There was no mistaking it – the Demon King was Ganondorf.

His teeth were bared, and his face was cruel. His eyes were sunken, and the lines of his cheekbones stood out in stark contrast. The knotted and unruly mane of his hair was pushed back from his high forehead by a hideous headdress outfitted with a corona of daggers. It was hard to believe that this grotesque apparition was the same man who had held her so lightly when they danced, but his eyes were unmistakable.

He clutched a sodden burlap sack in his clawed gauntlet. As he looked up to meet her gaze, he raised his trophy slowly.

"Zelda!" he called out, his oddly melodious voice ringing out across the stone walls. "I bring you something you hold dear. I present it to you as a gesture of goodwill. Accept this token that our goals are in alignment."

With this declaration, he tossed the bag to her, and it flew through the distance between them in a perfect arc. Zelda leaned forward and, to her immense surprise, caught it. It was unpleasantly heavy. Not knowing what else to do, Zelda untied the loose knot at the bag's mouth and reached inside. She shivered as her fingers brushed against a clump of hair. Her arm trembling, she lifted a human head. Its dead eyes fixed her in a blank stare.

A collective gasp rose from the soldiers who had watched this scene play out. Zelda was shocked, but the appropriate response eluded her.

"Highness, this is your fiancé," the young knight whispered at her shoulder.

Zelda turned and placed the disembodied head into his hands. Her fiancé? To her knowledge, this Zelda had never married. She looked back down at the Demon King in the courtyard. What she saw on his face was not murderous intent, but yearning. Zelda couldn't tear her eyes away from him as she said the only thing she could think of, the only thing she could say.

"Kill him."


	9. The Tipping of an Hourglass

Zelda allowed the ocarina to fall to the floor between the library bookshelves, not caring if it broke. She dashed to the window looking out over the garden. The sky was a pale powdery blue, and the outer wall of the castle was only barely visible over the tops of the trees. The reflection mirrored on the window glass was unmistakably that of her own face.

She sighed with relief. Thanks to the grace of the goddess, she had been able to make it back to her own time.

When she ordered that the Demon King be killed, he had roared like an erupting volcano, and she immediately understood why he allowed himself to walk into her castle unarmed. He was possessed of a power whose like she had never seen, and he needed no weapon.

He swept his hand in front of him, and an immense shockwave exploded outward, knocking over the soldiers who surrounded him as easily as if they had been nothing more than straw-filled training dummies. Those standing closest to him took the full brunt of the force of his magic, their limbs flying from their bodies in a hideous spray of blood. Zelda could hear the young knight standing at her side draw his sword, and then she was running, rushing to get away from the carnage as swiftly as she could. She had dashed to the library and grabbed the ocarina from the shelf where she'd left it before thrusting it to her mouth and playing the song that brought her to this era as if her life depended on it.

Now that the frantic beating of her heart was beginning to slow, Zelda felt that she could process what had happened to her. Had she experienced nothing more than a vision, or had she somehow managed to travel through time? Had her mind been sent into the body of her ancestor? She had felt no other presence guiding her actions, and she'd been sitting in the exact same position on the library floor when she returned to her own time. It seemed that she had somehow replaced the former queen in her own body, but there had been no exchange of their spirits.

Zelda's finger throbbed, and she stretched out her hands in front of her. A long splinter of wood was still lodged in her flesh. She braced herself and removed it with her nails, scanning the surface of the library table for any indication that she had touched it two hundred years ago. There were none, of course. How could there be?

 _May the Goddess grant me wisdom_ , Zelda prayed.

In any case, she would need to retrieve the ocarina from where she dropped it. Something so powerful should not be left lying around. In the legend about the fabled instrument, the hero used it to move bodily through time, sending his entire person into the past or future, whether it was a span of years or just a few days. Or was that really how it worked? Had the hero only been able to shift his consciousness from one point in time to another? Zelda cursed herself for not having questioned the details of the story more thoroughly. She knew that magic was real, as she had seen its effects with her own eyes and could even command a bit of it herself. If nothing else, her dreams and visions had always been clear and true. Regardless, magic was something she was happy to leave to Impa, who had been trained according to Sheikah traditions and had a small foundation of knowledge on the subject, which was more than Zelda could say of her own understanding.

Zelda picked up the ocarina from where she'd left it on the library floor and tucked it carefully into her satchel. She would have to talk with Impa, and soon. The angle of the light streaming through the library windows indicated that she was already late to her morning briefing, and her chief secretary had more than likely already sent a courier to fetch her. If she wanted to speak with Impa, she would have to cancel one of the afternoon's audiences, but surely this turn of events was important enough to warrant the rearrangement of her schedule. Even a year ago she would have felt anxiety about the inconvenience to her staff, but she was learning that this was only what was expected of her – to give orders, and to be obeyed. She must be flexible, but only she could control the direction of her will. If she did not exercise her right to dictate her own priorities, the strength of her commands would atrophy as those around her gradually lost their respect for her time and patience.

In the hallway outside the library, Zelda stood in front of the portrait of her ancestor. The former queen's face was wise, but strained and severe. Had Zelda witnessed the war she'd supposedly won? How could she have possibly triumphed over the man who looked like Ganondorf, who had destroyed rows of heavily armed soldiers with a mere sweep of his hand? He did not seem to want to be the queen's enemy. How had the war started, then? It now seemed strange to Zelda that she knew so little about this conflict. She could recite the queen's lineage from memory, as well as the titles and stipulations of dozens of laws that had been enacted during her reign. Why did she not know more details concerning the war her ancestor had presided over when the woman was scarcely older than she was now?

 _Hyrule will burn_. Ganondorf's words from the previous evening still lingered in her ears, and she could still feel the touch of his breath on her neck. Zelda caught herself pressing her fingers to the spot on her face where his skin had briefly brushed against hers, and she quickly lowered her hand. She didn't know whether Ganondorf was capable of starting a war, or even whether that was his intention, but she understood that she could never again stand on the castle ramparts and relive the horror she had just experienced. She may not have the spiritual strength of her ancestor, but she promised herself that she would find a better way.

* * *

"The war two hundred years ago?" Impa asked, raising her eyebrows. "Out of the two of us, you're the historian. What could I possibly tell you that you don't already know?"

Zelda studied Impa's face, but it was as smooth as a mask and betrayed no emotion. Impa had taught her how to achieve this same neutrality of expression years ago. She knew Impa was hiding something, but she supposed this was only natural. If she wanted Impa's honesty, she would have to be honest herself.

And so she told Impa everything. She'd only managed to free an hour of her schedule, so she spoke as concisely and with as much precision as she could manage. Impa listened without interrupting, her face becoming progressively more serious. When Zelda reached the end of her story, Impa nodded.

"It's finally started, then," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Zelda was irritated. She had expected concern, or perhaps even gentle teasing, and Impa's attitude of knowing resignation came as an unpleasant surprise.

"What's finally started?" Zelda raised her voice. "If you know something, I want you to tell me."

Impa smirked, her face bitter. "There are legends about the Zeldas. Did you think you were exempt?"

Zelda bit her lip to silence a retort but then spoke her mind anyway. "Don't give me any of this 'mystical Sheikah wisdom' nonsense. I just came into possession of a legendary artifact of staggering potential and saw a vision of a war, and this is right after the leader of the Gerudo all but promised that something terrible is going to happen to my kingdom. If you were waiting until my coronation to induct me into some sort of esoteric mystery, I urge you to – "

Zelda suddenly became aware that she had begun to channel the speech and bearing of the former queen whose body she had so recently inhabited. She sighed and let her shoulders drop. "...I'd like you to please reconsider," she finished in a softer voice.

Impa seemed to have paid her outburst no mind, however. "I was warned this might happen," she said, tapping the fingers of her right hand against her arm, "but I didn't think it actually would."

She shook her head and met Zelda's eyes. "There's not much to tell, except that all of the legends about the princesses and their heroes are true. The specifics may have been changed over time, but the foundation remains solid. Every one of those princesses existed in this world, as did every demon they fought."

"But that makes no sense," Zelda objected. "There are far too many legends for them all to be true. And if they were, we would have historical records of at least some of them. I was taught that the last Queen Zelda oversaw a war surrounding a border conflict, not the invasion of a Gerudo warlord."

Impa shook her head. "Blessed Nayru, where do I even begin. I thought His Majesty would have told you something about this. I'm assuming he didn't?"

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about, Impa. If it's not a matter of historical record, then I haven't read it."

"You haven't... read it. Of course. This is why we Sheikah don't write things down. Books can be burned, and records can be altered or lost altogether."

"So you have an oral tradition, I understand that." Zelda made an impatient gesture. "But something this big, a man with enough power to destroy an entire army all on his own... Hyrule should have its own oral record of something like that. If such a person actually existed, don't you think people would tell stories about him? There's no way he wouldn't have become the subject of all manner of rumors. Especially since..."

 _Especially since he was so young and attractive_ , Zelda started to say, but she caught herself.

Impa frowned and looked away. "I'm going to say something that I probably shouldn't. The Sheikah are supposed to serve the royal family, not criticize it, but this has always bothered me..."

"Go on," Zelda prompted, intrigued.

"You're thinking about this like a princess, not a politician. Let me ask you, what purpose does it serve for the royal family to allow people to know that their monarchy was almost brought to its knees by the actions of one man? If the throne is so weak that it can be seized by an outsider, and a Gerudo outsider at that, then what's to stop anyone else from claiming it? If your family's control over this kingdom isn't absolute, then what's to stop any disgruntled farmhand with delusions of grandeur from becoming the seed that grows into the next uprising?"

Zelda immediately saw Impa's point. "And so an invasion becomes a 'border skirmish.'"

"And a man becomes a monster, a monster that was defeated because of the noble efforts of the princess and her hero. It's hitting two birds with one stone, really."

"Of course. The risk of political dissent is minimized, while patriotism and loyalty are encouraged."

Impa's face remained grim as she uncrossed her arms and cracked her knuckles, a gesture that Zelda knew indicated she was upset about something.

"You've always been a quick study when it comes to logic," Impa said, "but politics aren't the only forces at play here. What you need to understand is that, while the demons of legend are ideological constructs, they are also literal monsters."

"Impa, that's..." Zelda searched for the right words to respond to Impa's unfortunate phrasing, which was uncharacteristic of her friend, who usually had no patience for unjustified prejudice. "...extremely unkind," she finally said. "The Darknuts used to be considered monsters, as did the Bokoblins, and you know that even now..."

"They are discriminated against, of course. That's not what I mean by 'monster.' What I mean is that there are forces in Hyrule that we don't fully understand, just as we don't fully understand the nature of the goddess that your line claims as its ancestor. But that doesn't mean that they don't exist. It's just like how we accept the existence of magic, even if most of us don't believe it has any bearing on our own lives. When it's wielded by the royal family in the service of the people of Hyrule, we consider magic to be good. But there is some magic that can twist people's hearts and minds, including those of the Darknuts and Bokoblins that attacked this kingdom during the reign of the last Zelda. This is how monsters are created. These monsters are not the demonization of a rebellion, but akin to natural disasters in the destruction they bring."

Zelda's mind raced as she struggled to process what Impa was telling her. "But the hero always wins," she pointed out. "So why haven't these monsters been defeated already?"

"As a member of the royal family, you've been trained to understand time as being teleological, progressing in a straight line from one point to another toward the greater glory of your kingdom. But we Sheikah..."

Impa held her hands in front of her chest, her palms facing each other. "We Sheikah see time as cyclical. History does not progress; it repeats itself." She flipped the position of her hands as if she were turning over an hourglass. "And the time has come around once again for the princess to face a great evil."

"And you think this princess is me? So tell me, what's the great evil I'm supposed to face?"

"It's too soon to be certain, but the Gerudo emissary seems to be up to something."

"Be that as it may, I don't want to fight a war. I _can't_ fight a war. Impa, you know that."

"And that's where we Sheikah come in," Impa said, her eyes cold. "You don't always need a hero to defeat a monster. Sometimes all you need is another monster."

 _You're not a monster_ , Zelda wanted to say, but the truth was that she knew better. Like all Sheikah warriors, Impa had been trained as an assassin. As Impa's apprentice, she was no stranger to this training herself. She would need time to consider the implications of what Impa had told her, but time was the one thing she didn't have. If nothing else, she had to resume her afternoon audiences. She could already hear the undersecretary sent to retrieve her outside the door of the small chamber adjoining the stateroom.

"Thank you for speaking freely to me. I apologize for springing this on you so suddenly. Let's discuss this later," she said, turning away from Impa. _And we'll see if I become a monster myself_ , she wanted to add, but this time she held her tongue. Before she was a Sheikah apprentice, and before she was a politician, she was a princess, and a princess must be graceful and composed.


	10. A Softer Time

Zelda ran her hand across the moss covering the outstretched wing of the stone statue of Hylia, appreciating how soft and springy it was under her fingertips. Perhaps in another era, the statue would have been cleaned daily, but she was practically the only person who visited the castle's inner garden these days. Small gatherings had been held here when her mother was still alive, but now only Impa accompanied her on her visits, and then only rarely.

This was a shame, Zelda reflected, as the garden was quite beautiful. It was located within the walls of one of the oldest parts of the castle, right next to the library. The white stone of the masonry had aged gracefully, covered as it was with ivy and heartvine. Judging from the fountain at the center of the area, which had been allowed to run dry and gradually fill with earth and clover, the garden must have once been purely ornamental, but Zelda's mother had grown a variety of medicinal plants here. Zelda maintained these plantings and continued to study their applications, even though she did not have frequent cause to make use of them.

Among them were some she hoped she would never use. Any medicine improperly applied could become a poison, of course, but some tinctures served only to bring pain. The most dangerous of the plants in the garden was a white bellflower ringed with blue. Impa referred to it as the "silent princess," as it was known within the Sheikah lore for doing its work efficiently and then vanishing without a trace. It was difficult to cultivate, but it had been a favorite of her mother. Zelda admired its beauty, and she had to admit that she admired its power as well. She hoped she would never have to avail herself of the silent princess, but she also understood that her personal ethics would be forever subservient to her position as a monarch of Hyrule.

 _If what Impa told me is true_ , she thought, tracing her finger around the outer rim of one of the freshly blooming flowers, _my coronation may be the least of my worries at the moment_.

"It's rare to see such a flower grown in captivity," a voice said at her back. "What is it you Hylians call it? The 'silent princess,' if I'm not mistaken."

Zelda's blood froze.

"Good afternoon, Ganondorf," she said, politely acknowledging his presence as a reflex but unable to prevent her next words from leaving her mouth. "What are you doing here?"

"I was given to understand that this is not a private place," he replied, and she could hear the frown in his voice even before she turned to face him.

"That's true," she agreed, "but very few people enter this garden. It's a bit out of the way."

"Indeed it is, but it was you who showed me how to get here. Don't you remember?"

As soon as he said this, a shadow of a memory flickered through her mind.

"You brought me here after we first met," he added, a faint note of sadness in his voice.

"That's right," Zelda whispered, the memory suddenly clear.

As a child, she hadn't been allowed to play with the other children in the castle. It didn't matter whether they were the daughters and sons of the staff or the nobility; if she so much as struck up a conversation, an adult would quickly materialize to usher her elsewhere. She was the only child of her parents, and, as such, she was precious. She could not be allowed to come to physical harm, nor was she allowed to compromise her reputation as the crown princess with any childish gossip or imaginings. Although Zelda had desperately wanted to play with children her own age, she had been strictly trained to be quiet and reserved. When the expectation that she remain still and silent became too much to bear, she found refuge in the library, where no one would interrupt her to tell her how to behave.

Late one afternoon Zelda had escaped from an interminable tea luncheon, fleeing to the library only to find a boy perhaps a year or two older than her sitting in a chair much too large for him. He was flipping through a book that he obviously wasn't reading. Zelda could still remember its title, _An Agricultural History of the Zora River Basin_. When she entered the room, the large oak door swinging softly shut behind her, the boy had given her a sullen look, as if annoyed by her intrusion. No one else in the castle, child or adult, would have dared to cast such an expression in her direction, and she was intrigued.

"Did you come here to read?" she asked as she approached him.

"Is not read. I go here to hide," he answered. His accent was thick, but his words were clear. In his voice Zelda recognized the intonation of someone who had been carefully instructed on how to speak in front of others.

He lowered his book, and Zelda was able to get a good look at his face. When she saw the large topaz stone adorning the diadem circling his forehead, she realized that this must be the Gerudo prince her mother had told her about. Her mother considered the Gerudo queen to be a special friend, and she had been excited that Zelda would finally be able to meet the queen's son, Ganondorf. When the queen had been presented during the previous evening's court, however, there had been no children accompanying her.

"Where were you last night?" Zelda asked him, taking it for granted that he would understand what she meant.

"Was bad. The food is..." The boy clutched his stomach to mime sickness.

"How _rude_ ," Zelda chided him, unable to help herself.

He shrugged and pointed at her. "Food is bad for you also, are too skinny."

For some reason this statement struck Zelda as unbearably silly. She started giggling, and the boy smiled at her.

"Our mothers are still at the luncheon. Do you want to go play outside while we wait for them?"

This was the first time Zelda had ever offered such an invitation. To her delight, Ganondorf accepted, and she had led him to the inner garden, all the while peppering him with questions just to listen to the way he used words. Within the hour he had grown impatient with Hylian and started to speak to her in Gerudo, and when the two of them were found sitting on the grass of the inner garden and braiding clover stems into chains their conversation was an equal mixture of their languages. Both of them found the other's way of speaking infinitely amusing.

It seemed that their mothers were always together, and there wasn't much room for children in the intimate space they created between themselves. The interruption of the queen's schedule affected Zelda's own, and during the Gerudos' visit she was mostly left to her own devices. She naturally gravitated toward Ganondorf, who also had little to do other than kill time while roaming around the castle. They played hide and seek in the hedges, chatted endlessly about inconsequential things next to each other at formal state dinners, and went on small adventures in the lonelier areas of the castle during the long summer afternoons.

Zelda smiled as she recalled these memories. "We were good friends," she said to Ganondorf, who was gazing at her with the slightly unsettling intensity that she had come to expect from him.

"Our _mothers_ were good friends," he responded, as if correcting her. "But they never should have become so close. There cannot be true friendship between people who can never be equals."

Zelda recalled the way that the two women had spoken to and smiled at each other, and she shook her head. "I don't think your mother was subservient to mine in any way. And I don't think your position is subservient to mine, even if we are in my castle," she added. "It's been too long since we sat down and talked to one another. Why don't you join me for tea tomorrow afternoon? I hope it won't be an imposition."

"An imposition? Hardly," Ganondorf scoffed. "Is an invitation from the crown princess ever an imposition?"

Zelda decided not to respond to his implication that she had just issued an order. That had not been her intention, but a certain stubbornness kept her from correcting him.

"So you'll join me, then?"

Instead of answering her, Ganondorf raised his hand toward her. Zelda stiffened, but he reached past her shoulder to pluck one of the silent princesses from its vine.

"If I must join you, then I will," he said lightly. He met her eyes and then dropped his gaze to the flower in his hands. Zelda glanced down and watched him squeeze the stem above his palm. When a drop of the poisonous sap fell onto his skin, she flinched. She looked back up at Ganondorf, but he was still regarding the silent princess contemplatively.

"But I hope you won't be offended if I tell you that Hylian tea is not to my taste."

Zelda swallowed and resisted the urge to bite her lip. If Ganondorf knew the Sheikah name of this flower, then he must know how deadly it was, but surely he could not be suggesting that she would try to poison him.

"Perhaps I could take tea with you," she offered.

"Hylians do enjoy taking things, don't they," he replied, surprising her with his boldness.

"Ganondorf. It doesn't have to be this way between us. Why don't you tell me what you want to say?"

"Plainly speaking?"

"Yes," she insisted. "Please consider me a friend, as your mother was a friend of my own."

"Fine, then know this – As your kingdom rises, Princess, mine can only fall."

"That's preposterous, Ganondorf. Hyrule has no ill intentions toward the Gerudo, and your people are famously wealthy. Besides, if you truly believe that, then why did you come here?"

"Did I have a choice? Surely I don't need to tell you how it would look if my people failed to send an emissary to your coronation."

"No, I mean, I understand that," Zelda said in frustration, "but if you hate me and my kingdom so much, why did you come _here_ , to this garden?"

Ganondorf seemed taken aback. "I don't hate Hyrule," he muttered, looking away from her. Zelda glanced down and watched him twist the stem of the silent princess around his finger in agitation.

"And I don't hate you either," he continued. "It's just that it's difficult for me, here in your castle. I sometimes feel that every room is haunted by the memory of my mother, and I wanted to go to a place that I don't associate with her. I remember, the last time I was here we read an old book together, something about magic. I seem to recall that you had a fascination with wizards."

Zelda was perplexed. How could Ganondorf speak of such personal matters in practically the same breath as he accused her kingdom of oppressing his own? She didn't know what to make of the situation, or of Ganondorf himself. Nevertheless, she did her best to salvage the conversation.

"I used to love stories about wizards," she admitted, "but they lost their luster when I realized that I have no talent for magic myself. The gift is supposed to run in my family, but it's never come easily to me."

"Magic doesn't come naturally to anyone," Ganondorf replied. "It's not the sort of thing that's supposed to come easily. You have to work at it, constantly."

"So you're able to use magic?" Zelda asked.

"I am."

"Then show me," she demanded. "I'd like to see it." She was a bit shocked by her own forwardness, but her curiosity had gotten the best of her.

"It would be my pleasure," Ganondorf said, smiling. He took a deep breath, released it, and began humming a simple melody. Each of the notes created a strange resonance in her heart, almost as if she had heard this song somewhere before.

Within seconds, a warm wind began circling through the garden, catching fallen leaves and flower petals and sending them up into tiny spirals. The wind also carried the subtle smell of the incense burned into Ganondorf's clothing as it blew across Zelda's face, striking her with a fierce pang of nostalgia for the brief time in which her days and hours had been her own.

The sky had grown vibrant with the hues of the setting sun, and Zelda knew she would have to excuse herself soon. She had only come here for a breath of fresh air after her afternoon audiences, and she still had a number of documents that she needed to return to her secretaries before she began to prepare for the evening court. She was scheduled to be fitted for another gown, so she had even less time than usual.

And yet she allowed herself to stand quietly as Ganondorf continued to hum, the wind he summoned dancing through the garden. It occurred to her that he had sought her out here, just as he had before the dance yesterday evening, just he had the other morning in front of the library; just as she had continually sought him out when they were children. Perhaps this is what they did for each other, something that they could not do for themselves – together they found time to be no one other than themselves, if only for a few moments before they returned to the court and reassumed the weight of the responsibilities of their positions.


	11. A More Enlightened Age

A short letter from Ruto was discreetly passed to Zelda later that evening.

 _We're having a bit of trouble with the big fish_ , Ruto wrote with her usual irreverence, _but it's nothing we can't handle_.

Zelda folded the letter neatly down the middle, disfiguring the paper and indicating that it should be burned. She spoke a few brief sentences of polite concern to the messenger, requesting that he compose a reply in her stead. Ruto deserved a lengthier response, but the Great Hall was not the place to dictate it.

It was as the Zora at Telma's Bar had said; something was amiss with Lord Jabun. Ruto had grown up serving as a handmaiden to the Zora's tutelary deity, and Zelda had no doubt that she would indeed be able to handle any trouble on her own. Nevertheless, she was concerned; a being like Jabun does not simply fall ill. Even with her limited knowledge of such matters, Zelda understood that only drastic environmental change could have affected the ancient demigod – that, or magic whose like had not been recorded for hundreds of years.

Zelda rose early the next morning. She was in no mood to linger in her chambers. Once again she had dreamed of dark clouds billowing out over Hyrule. There were brilliant flashes of lightning in her nightmare, and fires racing across the plains. Above a sea of roiling black ash rose the thick white line of a colossal tower. Zelda's dream felt as real as anything she had ever experienced, and the memory of the pale tower standing in stark contrast to the violent red of the sky remained clear in her mind when she woke.

Sleep did not return to her, and she finally allowed herself to leave her bed when the first fingers of dawn touched the horizon. She dressed quickly and piled her hair in a loose bun, too distracted to make an effort with braids or pins. She would ask one of her personal attendants to put it up properly before breakfast, but before then she wanted at least an hour to herself in the library. She had to write to Ruto, but she needed to learn more about Lord Jabun. What was it, exactly? Where did it come from? What purpose did it serve, and why would anyone wish to harm it?

Once she got the library, Zelda selected a few relevant books from the shelves, but she was unable to concentrate. More people were arriving at court every day, and she had been kept busy with greetings and introductions. She'd already met many of the people who traveled to attend her coronation, but this was the first time she had the opportunity to speak to them as an adult. As she made small talk with various nobles and dignitaries over the past week, she began to better understand her role at the courts called by her father. These events were about politics, certainly, but the real business of state was largely the domain of the king and his council. Zelda would soon be elevated to the same position of responsibility, but on the cusp of her ascension she was expected to gather information from the ritual exchange of pleasantries, and she was scheduled to make a report on the intelligence she had received to her father later this afternoon. She did not mind this work, whose challenges she rather enjoyed, but the constant demands on her attention had gradually grown exhausting. The nightly courts were rendered even more difficult by the need to balance amiable approachability and polite distance in her interactions with her potential suitors. Her conversations with these men might have been a bit easier if she were in a flirtatious mood, but no one had caught her eye.

As she stared through the library window into the courtyard garden, flipping the barrel of her pen between her fingers, Zelda found herself thinking of Ganondorf. He had never said anything to her on the subject, but she supposed it must be difficult for him to be the only man in a tribe of women. _If only I had that problem_ , she thought, smiling to herself. There were a few women on the parliament that represented the concerns of Castle Town to the throne, but the members of her father's council were entirely male, as was the council of Sheikah elders.

Zelda mused that it might be interesting to ask Ganondorf for his opinion on the matter, but she hadn't managed to make concrete plans with him during their encounter yesterday afternoon. She resolved to have a short note delivered to him after she finished her letter to Ruto, but she couldn't manage to bring herself to start writing.

Even though it was one of her favorite places, the library felt stuffy and airless. During the past two weeks, Zelda had begun to feel a bit claustrophobic everywhere in the castle. There was nothing keeping her from clearing her schedule for a day to go riding, just as there was nothing keeping her from disguising herself as Impaz and venturing out into Castle Town for a night of frivolous amusement. In fact, she probably owed herself some time to unwind before her coronation, especially since she would be even more anchored to the castle once she became a queen. Before she allowed herself to relax, however, she had to get this strange business with Ganondorf sorted out, the sooner the better.

Zelda hadn't been able to figure out a secure hiding place for her mother's ocarina, so she continued to carry it in her satchel. Thinking of the song that Ganondorf hummed in the inner garden yesterday afternoon, she took out the ocarina and held it in a beam of sunlight as she tapped her fingers against the edges of the holes in its cerulean body.

 _Wouldn't it be nice to get some wind in here?_ _Someone should really dust this place every once in a while_ , she thought.

Zelda's mother hadn't enjoyed reading, nor had she any use for books, so the library had gone almost entirely unused during her reign. Her father read, probably more than anyone else she knew, but the library in his chambers was private, and Zelda learned at a young age that not even she was allowed to spend time there. Members of the nobility and the wealthy social climbers who associated with them had once hired specialists to build their libraries for them, but that particular display of wealth had gone out of fashion now that many books were printed by machine and thus available to the masses.

 _This library belongs to another time_ , Zelda reflected. Of course, the same could be said of the castle itself. It had its use as a gathering space, as the nightly courts demonstrated, but the center of power was slowly shifting to Castle Town, where salons and social gatherings were held in newly constructed and richly appointed private homes. If things continued in this manner, Zelda might be the last monarch to hold court in the castle itself. As it was, her father was engaging in something of a gamble by limiting the activities relating to her coronation to the castle instead of allowing her to attend the parties held in the growing city outside its walls.

 _How ridiculous Ganondorf is for thinking Hyrule is a threat. He believes the Gerudo should fear the royal family, when all the while we're wrapped up in our own battle to hold our position_. _The king is little more than the head of an army, but what use are soldiers when there are no enemies to fight? One day the wealth of the ambitious may buy us all_ , Zelda thought, raising the ocarina to her lips. She wondered if perhaps she herself might live to see the monarchy fall, but she resolved to put the thought from her mind as she blew into the mouthpiece.

After a few false starts, she found the opening notes of Ganondorf's song, and from there the melody seemed to flow from her fingertips. Zelda could feel a faint breeze lifting the fringes of her hair when she was hit by a powerful sense of vertigo. She realized that she was on the verge of having another vision, so she closed her eyes and allowed the tide of her dizziness to surge and then ebb away.

When Zelda opened her eyes, she could see a white tower in the distance rising above black clouds into a red sky like a scream. She had a brief flash of déjà vu and wondered where she could have possibly seen something like this, but then the memory of her nightmare struck her like a fist to her gut. Within the span of a heartbeat, her disorientation turned to dread.

Zelda could still feel the weight of the ocarina in her hand, and it comforted her to know that she could return to her own time if anything happened. Since there was nothing else to be done, she reasoned that she may as well take stock of her surroundings.

She took a deep breath as she tucked the ocarina into a loose fold of fabric at her waist. She marveled that she could see the tower over the top of the clouds and realized that she must be looking down at it from an extremely high vantage point. She turned and glanced upwards, gasping as she realized that she was standing on a balcony emerging from a massive building constructed of smooth pale stone. The walls were covered in vast windows framed within ornamental crystal latticework. The scale of the structure was almost incomprehensibly large, and it was beautiful.

The circular door leading out onto the balcony was surrounded by stylized carvings suggesting vines and flowers, and at its apex was a large Triforce. There were several such symbols adorning her own castle, but it had gone out of fashion decades ago. Her father occasionally wore old regalia bearing the Triforce, but for the most part it did not grace his clothing – or her own, for that matter. It was superstitious nonsense, her father had once remarked, adding that it was an unwelcome reminder of feudal traditions best forgotten.

Zelda looked down at herself and saw that she wore a shimmering white gown. She transferred her weight from one foot to the other, and the hue of her skirt shifted as if it had been spun of mother of pearl. She held her arms in front of her and was dazzled by her sleeves, which seemed to be embroidered with pure light in a motif of scaled triangles. The edges of her sleeves were linked to her middle fingers by silver rings as bright as small stars. The fabric of her dress was as smooth as silk, but the slight tingle on her skin suggested to Zelda that it was woven with magic.

 _Can this be really be Hyrule?_ Zelda wondered. _Am I seeing the future?_

Just beyond the tips of her fingers, Zelda could see a glowing geometric pattern of interlocking circles materialize in front of the doorway. At first she thought that it was an effect of the light shining through the latticework framing one of the large windows, but as it grew stronger she realized that what she was seeing was magic.

Within a few seconds, the pattern of light materialized into the figure of a man wearing armor as dark as the night sky. Like the fabric of her sleeves, its metal plates were adorned with softly glowing lines. While her clothing was beautiful in its perfectly aligned angles, however, his was a mess of swirls and spirals. The man's face was deeply lined, and he appeared to be somewhat past the prime of middle age, but she recognized him immediately.

"Ganondorf?"

To her surprise, the man nodded. "Good morning, Zelda. Are you well?" he responded pleasantly.

He spoke to her in an unfamiliar language, yet she was able to understand him. Even more astonishing was that he had answered to the name Ganondorf before addressing her with a word that needed no translation – her own name. She waited for the woman whose body she inhabited to reply to him, but no words came. It seemed that she was once again on her own.

"What could possibly be good about this?" she asked him bluntly, taking it for granted that she was speaking in the language of this era. If she was a princess, she may as well act like one. She gathered her courage and added, "It looks like the entire world is on fire."

"Is that not what happens during war?" The man shrugged, and she was momentarily mesmerized by the way his movement altered the patterns on his armor.

Zelda didn't know who she was, or where she was, or, most importantly, _when_ she was. Just as in her earlier vision, she had arrived in the midst of some sort of terrible war, but the man who answered to the name Ganondorf seemed perfectly at ease in her presence. Was she his captive, or were they somehow partners in the destruction raging below them?

"I need you to tell me what's going on," she ordered, taking her chances that he was not hostile.

"My forces were able to make a significant advance over the night," he explained, walking forward to join her at the balcony railing. "The tower has almost fallen."

"I don't understand," she said, looking up at him as he came to stand at her side. "Why does the tower need to fall?"

"To be frank, I've asked myself that question many times before. Wouldn't it be enough to take this castle? Why not simply undo the spells supporting the tower and let it rot into the earth? Of course it's in my best interests to secure the complete surrender of your armies, and Nayru only knows why they decided to make their last stand there of all places. It's not exactly defensible, and I'd give their efforts a few days at most, even if the magic guarding the tower were at its full strength."

He sighed before continuing. "I suppose it's the principle of the thing. My days in Hyrule are numbered, but I'd prefer not to have to look at that monument to death while I'm still here."

Zelda was silent as she processed this information. Ganondorf had apparently attacked her kingdom and seized this building, which he had called her castle. She seemed to be his prisoner, yet he spoke to her as casually as if they had been discussing the weather. She glanced at him and saw that his posture was relaxed. The gaps in his armor provided numerous openings that could be taken advantage of by a deftly applied blade. Did he underestimate her, or was it rather that he trusted her? She wondered what this man's relationship to her might be, but she could see no way to make such an inquiry.

"What do you mean, your days in Hyrule are numbered?" she asked instead.

"I have no doubt that your hero will arrive soon. I'll give him a good show, but you know as well as I do that I can't win against the two of you together. That's not how this story goes, is it?"

"What story?"

"The only story: an evil wizard attacks the kingdom of the beautiful princess and holds her hostage in her own castle. Since your people do me the honor of calling me 'Ganon,' I may as well live up to the name. What sort of demon king would I be otherwise?"

He looked down at her and grinned. Despite herself, Zelda found that she enjoyed talking with this man, and he seemed to enjoy talking with her as well. It was rare that someone so urbane spoke to her with such honesty. He behaved as if answering her questions were something of a game, so she decided to keep pressing him.

"So you're an evil wizard?"

"Of course. What else would I be?"

"Doesn't that keep you busy, waging a war and practicing magic at the same time?"

"Why in Din's blessed name would I need to practice magic?"

"I thought magic was something that required constant work and effort."

"Constant work and effort? Hardly."

"Does magic really come so easily to you?"

"Magic only requires effort for the people in the border colonies whom your kingdom doesn't see fit to train properly."

"So you were trained to perform magic?" Zelda asked. She felt guilty about not pursuing the matter of the border colonies he mentioned, but she found that she was genuinely curious about how one went about learning magic.

"No. I was not trained," he answered coldly, his voice losing its patina of joviality. "At least, not in the way you were. But my people have their own traditions, and I have certain gifts of my own."

Ganondorf raised his hand as leisurely as if he were greeting an old acquaintance, and suddenly the air was filled with an electric charge so strong that Zelda could taste it on her tongue. She prepared to defend herself, but she saw that Ganondorf was regarding the tower with an intense ferocity, his lips pulled back to expose his teeth. She followed his gaze just in time to witness a thick arc of lightning strike the tower in the distance. The flash in the sky was followed by a rolling boom of thunder, and the dark clouds covering the land began to twist and swirl.

Zelda could feel the flow of the power emanating from Ganondorf, and it was intoxicating. She understood that the armor he wore was merely for show, and that no assassin's blade could ever harm him. With his talent and ability, he could have anything he wanted; he could be a god among mortals. What need did he have to fight her?

When she was certain that she could speak calmly, she asked, "Why do you want to destroy the tower?"

Ganondorf continued to watch the dark clouds swirl in a slow vortex as he answered her. "Hyrule is a land blessed above all others," he said. "It is filled with magic that enhances its rich land and gentle climate. And yet you direct this energy into unnatural channels; you insist on binding it to the elite within your unholy temples. Anyone who resists you is wiped off the face of the earth. Since your people settled here, countless races have been destroyed so completely that not even their names remain. That hideous obelisk is a warning to anyone who dreams of a world that is not utterly dominated by Hylians."

He clenched his fists against the balustrade. Zelda glanced down at his hands, whose heavy gauntlets bore a curious crest that shone with a furious crimson light.

"And that is why the Tower of Hylia must be destroyed," Ganondorf continued in a softer voice. "The beliefs that built it must be destroyed. It does not matter if we were born in the castle or born in the colonies; we are all the children of the goddesses. I must fight, and soon I must die, so that people will understand this. So that _you_ will understand this. I can bring down that tower, but it is you who must dismantle this castle."

Ganondorf looked at her with a fierce yearning in his eyes. Zelda recognized the expression on his face; it was same look the enemy general of her previous vision had directed at her as he gazed up at her from the carnage he had created. This man was capable of terrible things, but he was not her enemy.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head as she turned away from him. "I don't understand. Please give me more time."

With as much dignity as she could muster, she walked across the balcony and into the castle. Once she was inside, she barely noticed the wonders surrounding her as she fumbled for the ocarina, hoping against hope that it would return her to an age where she did not doubt herself and everything once again made sense.


	12. The Eyes of the Beholders

When Zelda returned to herself, she was once again in the familiar library of her own time. A moment later, a gust of wind blew through the room, lifting the pages of her stationery from the dusty surface of the table in front of her. She clamped her hand down on the paper to keep it from flying off, almost dropping the ocarina in the process. As she moved, the fabric of her clothing felt rough against her skin.

Her nightmare of the white tower had filled her with trepidation and caused her to wake in a cold sweat, but she had received an entirely different impression when she saw it with her own eyes; the destruction had been strangely beautiful. Now the library felt stuffier and more claustrophobic than ever. She desperately wanted to know where to find the tower within the history of Hyrule, and she yearned for the open sky.

Zelda gathered her unfinished letters and stuffed them haphazardly into her satchel as she got up to leave. She wanted to resume her conversation with Impa, but even more than that she wanted to go outside. An hour or two of riding in the forested hills to the north of the castle was just the thing she needed to clear her mind.

She paced out of the library, not even pausing to make sure that the old oak doors didn't bang shut behind her. As soon as she entered the hallway she saw Ganondorf walking toward her. He raised his hand in a greeting.

"Zelda! I'm glad I was able to catch you!" he called out.

Ganondorf was dressed in his usual dark colors, but his face was as fresh as the dawn. He seemed energetic despite the early hour. Unsure of how to address him after what she had just seen, Zelda stood still and waited for him to come to her. _How dare he speak to me in such a cavalier manner_ , a voice hissed in the back of her mind, but she silenced it. As she had told Ganondorf in the garden yesterday afternoon, he was her equal, and there was no need for him to bow to her. It was rare for anyone to demand her attention this early in the morning, but her resentment at the intrusion on her privacy was mixed with curiosity over why he had sought her out.

And there was something else keeping her in place, an almost electric current between them. Even if she had wanted to, she could not look away from him.

"Would you like to go riding later?" he asked her with no prelude as he approached. "Barghest told me that it's been weeks since your horse has gotten any proper exercise."

Barghest? It took Zelda a moment to place the name before she realized that Ganondorf was referring to the stable master. She so rarely saw him speak to anyone, and the familiar way he used the Darknut's name gave her little context. She supposed that it would make sense for Ganondorf not to have been idle during the time he'd spent in her castle, and she found that she was interested to learn what he had been doing.

"I would love to," she answered. She had obligations, but they could be delegated. It struck her as only natural that Ganondorf's desire to leave the castle echoed her own.

"I was hoping you would agree," he said. "I'm not used to spending this much time indoors, and I've been looking for an excuse to explore more of the area around the castle. I heard it from a reliable source that no one knows the northern forest better than you."

A reliable source? "Did Link tell you that?" she asked, remembering how he'd once teased her about spending so much time riding that he worried she had gotten herself lost.

"He did," Ganondorf confirmed. "And he should know. He's an excellent rider. I think he might even be able to compete with the Gerudo. I haven't had much of an opportunity to speak with him, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's spent some time in the desert."

Like the man in her vision, Ganondorf spoke calmly and pleasantly, with poise and confidence. Her encounters with him during the past few days had been strained, to say the least, but he was royalty, and he had probably received elocution training similar to her own. Zelda watched his face carefully, searching for traces of the wizard – a twist of his eyebrows, or a hint of a scowl at the corner of his lips. What she saw instead were the fine lines already forming around his mouth and eyes. She mapped the wizard's face onto Ganondorf's, and she could easily imagine what he would look like decades from now. He was actually quite handsome, she decided.

Zelda wasn't used to studying people's faces, and it took her a moment to realize that Ganondorf had stopped speaking in order to watch her look at him. She dropped her eyes, simultaneously embarrassed and frustrated by her shame. After all, a princess should be able to look at whomever she pleases.

Glancing down from his face, she noticed that he was wearing a sash at the waist of his tunic. It was dyed with a circular pattern that she had seen before. At first she couldn't remember where, but in a second it flashed into her head. This was the same pattern that had been engraved in red pulsing light on the gauntlets of the wizard in her vision.

"That pattern, on your sash," she ventured. "What does that symbol mean?"

"It's the crest of the Gerudo, although it's not used much these days," he responded. "Some people say it represents the false eyes on the back of the king cobra, a poisonous snake that lives in the wastes beyond the city walls. Some people say that it represents the divine eyes of the golden sand goddess, who sees everything that happens under the sun. And some people say that it represents the wide eyes of the Gerudo dragonfly, swarms of which gather in the oases along our trade routes."

"Now that you mention it," Zelda said, suddenly remembering, "I seem to recall that your mother once wore a hair ornament with the same crest, with golden hairpins in place of wings."

"She did." Ganondorf nodded. "The crest also represents of a deep bond between two people, with each being a part of and balancing the other, as two eyes create perspective on a single face. I believe it was actually the late queen who gave that set of jewels to my mother."

"I see," Zelda said simply, not knowing how to respond. Her mother had been very close friends with his, but the way he described the crest seemed more like a symbol of marriage.

"Anyway." Ganondorf looked away, perhaps sensing the awkwardness of his explanation. "Your hair looks good this morning. I like it when it's down like that."

"When it's down?" Zelda ran a hand over her head and realized that her hair had fallen half out of its bun at some point. She was mortified that she had been caught in such a state of disarray, and by Ganondorf of all people.

"I'm sorry. I have some correspondence to attend to. Please excuse me." Zelda dipped her chin in apology and began to turn away before Ganondorf caught her with his next words.

"So I'll see you at the stable after your afternoon audiences?"

Despite herself, Zelda smiled. "I'll be there," she said.

* * *

When Zelda returned to her rooms, Impa was in the antechamber, perched on an overstuffed chair and polishing a long dagger. The blade glinted in a ray of light that fell through a slit in the room's heavy curtains, which had not yet been drawn.

"Good morning, Impa," Zelda greeted her. "Could you possibly look more sinister? I don't think you're quite scary enough to frighten off my attendants."

Impa grinned as she spun the knife around her fingers. "It helps me relax," she replied, shrugging her shoulders before hiding the weapon in a discrete sheaf at her waist.

Zelda sat down on an ottoman. "I'm glad you're here," she said as she undid the small band holding her loose bun. She began to comb her hair with her fingers. "I wanted to ask you – do you know anything about a tower?"

"A tower?"

"An enormous white one with smooth walls like a lighthouse, and not too far from the castle."

"An enormous tower right in the middle of Hyrule?" Impa leaned back into her chair and steepled her fingers in front of her face as she searched her memory. Zelda waited patiently, relieved that Impa did not question her motive for asking.

"I think I remember an old story," Impa finally said. "Very long ago, so far back that even the Sheikah records are nothing more than legends, there was something called the Tower of the Gods. It was supposed to be a symbol of Hylia's covenant with her people and her promise that she would always protect them from evil."

"Evil?" Zelda frowned. Hylia was a goddess of light and order, which she brought with her everywhere she graced with her presence. She was not associated with anything dark or threatening, and she certainly wasn't associated with war. "What sort of evil?"

"If I'm recalling the story correctly, I believe the tower was located on the site of a great battle immediately preceding the founding of your kingdom. A demon was sealed within the earth, and it needed to be destroyed before the land could be consecrated. A hero fought and defeated it, and Hylia gave him and his descendants her blessing, marking their right to the land by building a tower so tall that it served as a bridge to the sky."

"Although I have to warn you," Impa added with a wry grin, "the same story holds that the Hylians once lived on islands floating in the clouds, so you may want to take it with a grain of salt. And no such tower is still around today, obviously. If such a structure really existed, I can't even begin to imagine what sort of force could have destroyed it so thoroughly that there aren't even any ruins. The whole thing seems so farfetched that I never paid any attention, so I'd have to ask one of the elders to make sure I'm getting the details right."

"Please do," Zelda said softly, remembering the ozone crackle in the air as the wizard in her vision had summoned a bolt of lightning.

Impa sat back up and clapped her hands on her knees. "In the meantime," she said, "I came to ask if any messages were delivered overnight. Have you heard back from Ruto?"

"I... haven't had a chance to write to her yet."

"Then you can write to her while I braid your hair. You look like you were standing outside in the middle of a windstorm."

"Is this urgent? Did something happen?"

"I would say so. I heard a troubling bit of information last night from Kaepora."

Zelda took a deep breath. Her father had inherited Kaepora as an advisor from her grandfather. Although the Sheikah elder was still of sound body and mind, he was older than anyone she knew, and he terrified her with his masklike face. If he had let something slip within Impa's earshot, then he had done so deliberately, and it couldn't possibly be good news.

"It seems that one of the Goron mines has become infested with dodongos," Impa said, gesturing for Zelda to turn around.

Zelda did as she wished, putting her back to Impa so that she could pleat her hair.

"Aren't dodongos gentle? Or at least not a threat to Gorons?" she objected.

"That's usually the case," Impa agreed. "If they're becoming more aggressive, this must mean that something is bothering Volvagia. First Jabun and now this? There seems to be a pattern."

"I think we need more information before we can come to any sort of conclusion," Zelda said. She glanced back at Impa over her shoulder. "I wonder what Telma has to say about this."

"As do I. Let's go out tonight, shall we?" Impa responded, winking at Zelda as she began to comb her hair. "If nothing else, I could use a drink."

"Say, Impa?" Zelda spoke up after a minute or two had passed in companionable silence.

"Yes?"

"I have a strange question."

"Stranger than your question about a mythical tower?" Impa teased.

"This is something I've wondered for a while now," Zelda admitted. "The Sheikah crest represents an eye, supposedly since the Sheikah warriors have sworn themselves to serve as the eyes of Hyrule. But why is there only one eye? Wouldn't it make more sense for there to be two? In order to have a greater depth of perspective?"

"That's an interesting question," Impa replied, "but I don't think it has any special meaning for there to be only one eye. Instead of worrying about arcane Sheikah lore, why don't you get started on that letter to Ruto?"

"You're right. I've put it off too long," Zelda agreed. She knew that Impa had deflected her question with an almost insulting lack of subtlety, but she decided to let it slide. She already had enough mysteries to puzzle over, and she could trust no one if she didn't trust Impa.


	13. Of Monarchs and Magic

The sun was already low in the sky as Zelda walked across the training yard. The execution of her duties had taken longer than usual, and it didn't help that she'd been repeatedly interrupted by people wishing to consult with her regarding the preparations for her coronation.

On top of that, Castle Town was quickly becoming flooded with travelers, which was causing its own set of problems. The contractors who had been hired to help handle the overflow of people needed constant direction, and the city council was apparently content to allow the castle to shoulder the burdens of security, lodging, and waste disposal on its own. Zelda had a team of secretaries who reported directly to the city ministries, but there were no protocols in place for this magnitude of royal event. Her staff was overburdened, and Zelda would have felt guilty if she didn't contribute her proper share of the work.

If nothing else, she was acquiring a thorough education in her kingdom's byzantine legal system. Even without this recent influx of visitors, the population of Castle Town had been steadily increasing since she began taking on administrative duties five years ago. Zoning issues were a constant thorn in her side, as she could not simply order that something as simple yet necessary as a new road be built. Anything larger, such as a bridge or a quay, required massive amounts of paperwork. There were a multitude of regulations governing such construction, and everything needed to be carefully checked, negotiated, and certified.

Even at a young age Zelda had understood that the executive administration of her kingdom could not be the responsibility of one person. A century ago, when both Hyrule's population and its economy were smaller, there would have only been one monarch, and this person would have held absolute authority. Most princesses married ambitious men who had proven themselves capable of overseeing the kingdom from the throne, and it would have been unheard of for a princess of marriageable age to be crowned as a queen to rule alongside her father.

The sole exception had been the dark-haired woman whose portrait hung outside the library, who was known to history as "the virgin queen." She had strongly discouraged any suitors who sought to wrest control of the throne from her grasp, and she had never married. If the details of Zelda's vision were correct, however, then this woman had been engaged while she was still a princess. Perhaps she never would have risen to such political and cultural prominence if her husband had taken the throne instead. It might even be the case that the warlord who had beheaded her fiancé in a "token of his goodwill," as he called it, had done her a favor.

Zelda's own mother had ascended the throne at seventeen due to the ill health of her parents, and she had ruled by herself for a good fifteen years without marrying. It was only in her early thirties that she began to grow concerned about producing an heir, so she married Zelda's father under the condition that their authority be evenly divided. Daphnes was the son of a noble family that controlled a small but growing port town on Hyrule's southeastern shore, and Zelda suspected that her mother had agreed to marry him just as much for the economic gain he represented as for his gentle temperament.

Once she married, Zelda's mother devoted more of her time to traveling through the kingdom. She also began spending more time in the company of the Gerudo queen. According to the unkind gossip Zelda heard as a young girl, her mother had been more than happy to leave the new king to fend for himself in Hyrule. Zelda was certain there was more to the story, but she knew better than to ask her father. All of this was in the past, and both women were gone. Whatever bitterness she felt, and whatever lingering resentment Ganondorf might still feel, there was nothing to be done about it.

It was more than two hours past the time when her afternoon audiences were supposed to have ended, and Zelda didn't know if Ganondorf would still be waiting for her. Even if he wasn't, she had every intention of seeking him out. He had been so much in her thoughts during the day that it was difficult to concentrate on anything. After the astounding vision she had seen that morning, she was unable to dismiss him from her mind. Surely it couldn't have been a coincidence that he appeared in the hallway outside the library immediately after she had engaged in such an intense conversation with the wizard of a bygone age.

Perhaps it was some sort of sign, but Zelda wasn't sure that she believed in such things. She had experienced prophetic dreams ever since she was a child. When she had seen something in a vision, however, she had seen it clearly; there was never any interpretation involved. The gift of second sight supposedly ran in the bloodline of the women of the royal family, but any discussion of this ability made her father uncomfortable, and her mother always changed the subject when she tried to ask questions. Before she learned never to mention her dreams to anyone, the only person who had taken her seriously was Ganondorf. Still, she couldn't very well ask him to help her interpret what she saw during the time she had been displaced in history. The fact that these visions were so intensely focused on him was embarrassing enough, and what would she even say? Asking whether he was currently entertaining any notions of burning Hyrule to the ground didn't seem as if it would go over well.

Zelda caught sight of Barghest standing in the shadow of the eaves of one of the stable buildings. He was speaking to another Darknut. Based on what she could pick up, they seemed to be talking to each other in their own language, which Zelda had never been taught and never had a chance to learn for herself. Darknuts used to be a relatively common sight around the castle, but in recent days it was rare to see any of them other than Barghest. She always meant to ask him about this, but something had held her back; it seemed rude, somehow.

Barghest noticed her walking across the yard, gave a small wave, and pointed to one of the outer stables without breaking his conversation. Zelda nodded in acknowledgment and headed for the building he indicated.

Inside, Ganondorf was standing next to the largest horse she had ever seen. Its coat was pure black, while its mane and tail were a deep shade of russet. Ganondorf was carefully combing out a tangle in its hair while humming a song. His voice was soft, but it was so quiet in the stables that Zelda could hear him clearly. She paused to listen to the melody, which was calm and soothing. Ganondorf's back was to her, and he gave no indication that he heard her footsteps as she entered.

"This must be one of the fabled Gerudo horses I've heard so much about," Zelda finally spoke up. "I never thought they would actually be so huge."

"Zelda! I'm happy you could join me," Ganondorf said as he turned toward her. On his face was a smile of genuine pleasure.

"I'm sorry I'm so late," Zelda apologized. "Thank you for waiting for me."

"I know how these things go," Ganondorf responded. "Right before I came here I had to sit through a tariff negotiation with a party of Goron merchants. It was supposed to take two hours, but it ended up lasting the better part of two days. That's always the way of it, isn't it? I planned on you being late."

"I heard that dodongos have recently infested one of the Goron mines," Zelda remarked as casually as she could.

"Infested? That's a strange choice of words."

"How so?"

"I was under the impression that dodongos lived in all of those mountain tunnels, but I've never heard anyone complain about them."

"I guess you're right," Zelda conceded. The bite of a dodongo could be fatal to a Hylian, but it would only break its teeth on a Goron's stony skin. "I can't imagine that a dodongo could hurt a Goron, no matter how hard it tried. Then again, I expect they might cause trouble if they've been swarming."

"I'm not an expert, but it could just be their breeding season." Ganondorf shrugged as he turned back to comb out the last tangles at the ends of his horse's mane. "We have that problem with moldugas every two or three years."

Zelda had no idea what a molduga was, but she didn't want the conversation to get away from her before she finished asking questions about the disturbances in the Gorons' territory. "I've heard people saying that there must be something bothering Volvagia," she continued. "There have been so many eruptions lately. Perhaps the tremors are upsetting the dodongos?"

"Those minor eruptions are a natural geological process," Ganondorf said as he offered a large sugar cube to his horse, who took it from his fingers with an unusual degree of delicacy. "There are Gorons in other lands, and there's always a steady trickle of their naturalists passing through the desert to study Death Mountain. They say that live volcanos are rare outside of Hyrule, so Death Mountain has become a reliable source of data for them. The volcano has been unusually active lately, but it's ridiculous to believe that its activity is caused by a dragon."

"But wouldn't it make sense for the Gorons to be afraid of Volvagia's wrath?" Zelda asked, thinking of Jabun. According to Ruto, the Zora's tutelary deity was notoriously temperamental and could become quite violent when upset. It seemed only natural for a lava-dwelling dragon to be just as irascible, especially since the Gorons made a point of keeping their distance from it. "I've even heard rumors that it eats Gorons," she added, remembering something she had once heard a Goron father say to his son.

"Volvagia eats Gorons? I'd like to see it try," Ganondorf chuckled. "That would be like one of us swallowing an entire hydromelon. It would do more harm to the dragon than to the Goron."

"You're awfully knowledgeable about the Gorons," Zelda remarked.

"The Gerudo have always had a close relationship with the Gorons. They provide the raw materials for our metalwork, and we provide them with safe passage through the desert."

"Do you visit Death Mountain often?"

"Not often, but occasionally. Why do you ask?"

Ganondorf's tone was mellow, and both he and his horse were so relaxed that she decided to go ahead and ask him about what she needed to know. If Ganondorf had nothing to do with the disturbances in the Zora and Goron domains, then there would be no harm done. If he were guilty of some wrongdoing, he might become upset, but he could do nothing to her here.

"It's been brought to my attention that there have been sightings of a Gerudo man on Death Mountain within the past two weeks," Zelda said, deciding not to dwell on the fact that what she heard had only been a rumor. "I only know of one Gerudo man, but it couldn't have possibly been you, could it? After all, you've been here. It would take a great act of magic to warp through space..."

Ganondorf watched her with a neutral expression as she spoke. When she said the word "warp," however, his face became animated with interest.

"Warping is no great act of magic at all," he said. "In fact, it's quite easy. Watch."

He winked at her, and suddenly his face and body were covered by a dark shadow, almost as if night had fallen only on him. Zelda blinked to clear her eyes, and when she opened them he was no longer there.

"It's as simple as that," he said from behind her. She spun around to find him grinning at her startled reaction.

"How did you do that? Can you explain it to me?" Zelda demanded. It was one thing to see such magic in her vision, where everything had been strange and wonderful, but it was another thing entirely to see it in such a prosaic setting as one of the stables of her own castle. She knew she should take the opportunity to confront Ganondorf directly concerning his whereabouts during the past week, but she found that her curiosity was stronger than her sense of duty. She also found that she wasn't particularly interested in pursuing an interrogation. If Ganondorf wanted to climb the slopes beyond the beaten trails of Death Mountain, he was free to do so, and his nonchalant attitude regarding the recent eruptions made her feel as if her concern were foolish.

"The theory underlying the magic is complicated, and it took a great deal of study in order to understand something that turned out to be quite simple," he explained. "I'm sure you're aware of the existence of other worlds that lay just beyond our own."

Zelda nodded. She had read metaphysical debates surrounding the ontology of Hyrule, but she had never treated them as anything more than intellectual exercises. Ganondorf spoke with such assurance, however, that she decided it was best to agree without questioning him further.

"All of those worlds exist on different frequencies, just like different instruments performing in the same symphony. If you can attune yourself to the frequency of another world, you can travel through it, thus bending space far enough to reemerge into our own world wherever you like."

"I'm not sure I understand," Zelda admitted.

"It took me a long time to understand too, and I'm still not sure I fully comprehend the mechanics involved. I've read texts that mention magical instruments that allow anyone to tune into the frequencies of other worlds, but I've never seen something like that with my own eyes. Unfortunately, without a tool to help create a perfect resonance, all I can do is skim over the surface of other worlds."

"Do you ever see anything when you travel?" Zelda asked, intrigued by Ganondorf's allusion to magical instruments. Is that what her ocarina had been doing, transporting her to other worlds?

"I wouldn't say that I see anything, no," Ganondorf replied. "Perhaps it would be easier if I showed you. You'll understand much better once you've experienced it yourself."

He extended a hand to her, but Zelda hesitated. If he intended to attack her, it would be difficult for him to do so on the castle grounds, but if he took her somewhere far away it would be as if she simply vanished. She met his eyes, and she could see that he understood the level of trust he was asking of her. Zelda knew it would be safer to decline his offer, but if she did there would be no ride through the woods, and after that there would be no more private conversations between them. She would never know what Ganondorf meant when he said that her kingdom would burn – or she would only find out after it was too late. Zelda didn't want to endanger the relationship they were beginning to rebuild. There were diplomatic benefits to their friendship, certainly, but even more than that she didn't wish to hurt Ganondorf. Although she couldn't explain why, she was drawn to him, and she wanted to see whatever it was that he intended to show her.

She smiled and reached forward to take his hand.

"Zelda!" a voice called out from behind Ganondorf's back. A quick shadow passed over his face, but then he turned and stepped aside so that Zelda could see Link standing at the entrance to the stable. The light of the late afternoon sun streamed out from behind him.

"The king sent me to fetch you," he said, rubbing the back of his neck apologetically. "He was worried when you didn't show up to deliver your report from last night. He said you would know what he meant?"

Zelda had not forgotten this appointment, and in fact she had sent a messenger to inform her father that she would speak with him later that evening. She was about to tell this to Link, but then she noticed how he was deliberately not looking at or acknowledging Ganondorf in any way. Something strange was afoot.

"Very well," she said, trying to keep her irritation out of her voice. "I'll go see him now."

"Perhaps another time," she said to Ganondorf.

"Of course," he responded. His voice was polished and smooth, but on his face she saw a curious expression. Under a polite surface of mild regret was something she hadn't expected – concern. Unless she was mistaken, he was worried about her.

She wanted to say something more to him, but it was not the right time. Without looking back at Ganondorf, she hurried after Link.


	14. Outside the Castle Walls

When Zelda entered Telma's Bar behind Impa, the Gerudo woman named Nabooru stood and flashed her friend a bright smile as soon as she walked through the door. She then stood and gestured them over to a corner of the bar, where she had been guarding two empty stools from the crowd.

"Haven't seen you in a while, stranger," Nabooru said, winking at Zelda as she touched Impa's arm lightly. Although Zelda generally found the cloth covering her face under her guise as a Sheikah apprentice irritating, she was thankful for it now, since no one could see her blush.

A barmaid who recognized Impa set two mugs of beer in front of them. Nabooru raised her own glass in a wordless toast, and Impa clinked the rims of their mugs together before she and Nabooru slid gracefully onto their seats. To Zelda they looked like two cats, secure in themselves and confident in their prowess. They began chatting without waiting for her to climb onto her stool.

Zelda let them talk as she pulled down the loose fabric covering her mouth and took a sip of the beer. It was sweet and tangy, and the foam was rich and smooth on her lips. Instead of trying to join Impa's conversation, she rotated herself to look out into the bar as she continued drinking.

It was late enough in the evening that a sizeable crowd of people had gathered. Zelda noticed an unusually high number of Darknuts, and there were even a few Bokoblins and Moblins mixed in among them. The Gorons didn't seem to mind them, but the Hylians and Zora gave their groups a wide berth. As far as Zelda knew, Bokoblins and Moblins rarely came to Castle Town, preferring to remain in their own settlements in the forests and on the plains. They had probably taken advantage of the large influx of people to enter the city unnoticed.

"That's a sight you don't see every day," Telma remarked to Zelda from behind the bar, having wandered over and noticed Zelda looking at a particularly rowdy table of Moblins.

"I've seen Darknuts here before," Zelda responded.

"I'd never stay in business if I started turning people away, but more of those Darknuts have been coming in from Faron Woods every day. They keep to themselves, but they've been bringing Moblins and Bokoblins with them, and they're all armed to the teeth. It might be of concern to someone who worries about such things."

"It might be," Zelda agreed, not knowing what Telma was getting at. "You don't think they're just here for the coronation?"

"To hear the way they talk, this lot doesn't seem to have a great deal of loyalty to the throne."

Zelda nodded and took another sip of beer. "Then why are they here?" she asked.

"The question isn't why they're here, but why they aren't elsewhere. Why have all of the Darknuts who used to work in the castle left, that sort of thing. It might also be worth asking why there aren't any Gerudo in the castle. If you're curious, you could start with this Gerudo right here," Telma said, tipping her head at Nabooru, "who I know for a fact has been shirking her duties at court all week."

Nabooru heard Telma's comment and turned toward Zelda.

"Don't remind me," she said, winking at Telma. "I'm trying to have a good time."

Zelda remembered how Nabooru mentioned the power of Ganondorf's magic in their previous conversation. She'd passed it off as gossip, but perhaps Nabooru knew him personally.

"Did you come to Hyrule with the Gerudo emissary?" Zelda asked her as Telma moved away to speak with a group of Zora women who had just perched themselves at the other end of the bar.

Nabooru nodded. "I did – or at least I did this time around. We're just here for show, and there's no reason for us to be in the castle if our presence isn't required. Only Ganondorf was foolish enough to show up with an agenda. He somehow got it into his thick head that this would be a good opportunity for diplomacy. He was spared most of the actual planning for his own coronation, so he has no idea how busy the castle is with the preparations. We tried to tell him that his job is to smile and look pretty, but he's always taken everything too seriously. He spent his first week here under a dark cloud because no one would make time for him. Meanwhile, we women have learned from experience that no one wants a bunch of us hanging around and making everyone uncomfortable with our unladylike behavior, so we've taken our lodgings in the city."

"I'm sorry to hear that you don't feel comfortable in the castle," Zelda said, realizing to her dismay that she had never developed a proper persona as Impaz. Would Impaz be in a position to offer condolences regarding the royal family's lack of hospitality? This only occurred to her after the words had left her mouth, but Nabooru didn't seem to think it was out of the ordinary.

"Things were different when the old queen was still alive," she responded. "I'm no expert on Hyrule, but I understand there's been a political backlash against the liberalism of her reign. I can only hope the new queen helps to improve the situation. I can't imagine it will be easy, but Ganondorf thinks highly of the princess. Or at least he won't shut up about her, that's for certain."

"What does he say?" Zelda asked, unable to help herself.

"That she's the only civilized person in that drafty pile of rocks the Hylians call a castle, that sort of thing. He tends to rant when he gets worked up about something, and we don't pay him any mind."

"I see," Zelda responded, not sure how facetious Nabooru was being. She had gotten no closer to understanding who Nabooru was, and she inwardly cursed herself for not thinking to ask her secretarial staff to give her more information about the party of Gerudo that would be attending her coronation.

She had been too occupied with other matters during the past several weeks to pursue any sort of extraneous investigations into the details of the ceremony that did not require her immediate attention, but that was no excuse for not having asked one of her secretaries or attendants as soon as she'd grown curious about Ganondorf. It was her habit to collect information and gossip about the various goings-on in her castle, and in fact she had been carefully trained by her teachers and advisors in the art of doing so. For some reason, however, she hadn't thought to go through her usual channels to inquire after Ganondorf.

As she took a sip of beer to allow for a small break in the conversation, Zelda realized how odd it was that no one had volunteered information to her of their own accord. Based on what she heard during the evening court gatherings, Ganondorf had caused quite a stir, both with his presence and his standoffishness. As a Gerudo, he looked and dressed differently than most Hylians, but so too did the numerous Gorons, Zora, and Rito who had gathered at the castle. He was the nominal leader of a prosperous territory, he was neither a minor nor an elder, and, more to the point, he was unmarried; by all rights, he should have attracted much more positive attention.

Zelda was sure that, if she did begin to ask people about Ganondorf, she would no doubt hear any number of interesting rumors, but she felt reticent to do so. Although she couldn't put her finger on why, there was something about her relationship with him that she wanted to keep to herself. She didn't want people to know that she was asking after him, nor did she want people to speculate on how interested in him she truly was. If anyone else had come to her court and started making insinuations about how her kingdom would burn, she would have had their background thoroughly extirpated and their movements meticulously traced. This business with Ganondorf was different, somehow, and she still didn't understand why her intuition had guided her to pursue the matter on her own.

Zelda's life was well structured and guided by a strong sense of order, yet her recent dreams of catastrophe had disoriented and unbalanced her, and her visions added a number of unknown variables. Political malcontents she could deal with, but warlords and wizards were something else entirely. Meanwhile, she suspected that Impa was hiding something from her, and even Link, whom she could always count on to treat her as a friend, was behaving strangely. Earlier this afternoon he had interrupted her conversation with Ganondorf, saying that the king had summoned her; but, when she arrived in the stateroom her father was currently occupying, he informed her that he had done no such thing. What intrigued her more than what appeared to be Link's clumsy attempt to separate her from Ganondorf was her father's complete lack of curiosity or irritation when she explained what had happened. It was all very strange.

"By the way," Zelda said, reaching into a pouch at her belt, "it's embarrassing to admit this, but I'm terrible with Gerudo cursive. I was wondering if I could get you to read something for me." She withdrew the scrap of paper that Ganondorf had left in the small book of legends in the library and handed it to Nabooru.

Nabooru took it from her, the gold of her rings gleaming in the dim light of the storm lanterns suspended above the bar. She looked at the paper, blinked, and laughed.

"It's an advertisement for shaved ice," she said, grinning. "And this isn't cursive. You're even worse at our language than you think. Is this an excuse to get me to invite you to the desert? Because I'm always open to introducing pretty young women to new cultural experiences."

"Don't tease the poor girl," Impa said, poking Nabooru in the ribs. "I can't have you leading my apprentice astray."

"Do as the master says and not as the master does, isn't that right?" Nabooru replied, poking her back.

"Could you check the other side?" Zelda broke in, blushing furiously.

"Of course," Nabooru assented, flipping the paper between her slim fingers. Zelda felt even more heat rise to her face. The cursive on the back of the scrap of paper was beautiful, and it made her heart beat heavier in her chest as she watched the delicate movement of Nabooru's hand while imaging Ganondorf writing the forceful yet intricate flow of words.

"No wonder you couldn't read this," Nabooru said. "It's an old system of musical notation. If I hadn't already seen it written like this before, I might not have been able to understand it either. What you've got here are the opening bars of a dance, and it goes like this..."

Nabooru proceeded to hum a quick and lively melody. Zelda didn't think she had ever heard it before, but it resonated in her mind just as "The Song of the Hero" had. She didn't think she would have any trouble remembering it.

"Does it have lyrics?" Impa asked.

"Not traditionally, but people like to set it to words, some dirtier than others. It's a prayer for a long and happy marriage. Some of the more conventional lyrics go like this..."

Without any hesitation or embarrassment at all, Nabooru began to sing softly in a rich and husky voice. The lyrics had been composed in an archaic version of the Gerudo language, and Zelda wasn't able to understand everything, but what she heard was filled with wind and sand and stars.

"I've read this poem before," Impa said when Nabooru finished. "I didn't know it'd been set to a melody." She then sang the next verse, surprising Zelda, who had never heard her sing before.

Before she got more than a few lines in, Nabooru touched a finger to her lips, her eyes large and bright. "Stop singing before you make me fall in love with you," she murmured.

Zelda smiled and looked away, turning her back on the two women. She enjoyed watching them, but she resolved to go elsewhere and give them privacy once she finished her beer.

Before her daily schedule became too crowded to allow her to read for pleasure, Zelda had loved romances, and she dreamed of epic quests and fearsome monsters and brave princesses and princes fighting alongside kind and gentle heroes who were nevertheless carnivorous enough to ravage their partners properly when the time came. Knowing that she would only create trouble for herself if she were to indulge her curiosity at court, Zelda had convinced Impa to help her sneak out of the castle. Impa always exhibited something of a rebellious streak herself, and she hadn't required a great deal of persuasion.

Even before Impa allowed her to dress as a Sheikah apprentice, Zelda had disguised herself as a townsman's daughter, or the son of traveling merchants, or a soldier in training – anything that would help her walk through the city unnoticed and talk with people without arousing suspicion. Once she had learned to mimic the speech and gestures of people whose lives had not been constrained by a noble upbringing, Zelda grew more bold. Under Impa's supervision, she had flirted with various people by daylight, and then, once she was confident enough to request that Impa to occupy herself elsewhere, she began indulging in brief romantic entanglements by night.

No matter whether she made her advances to women or to men, she had never been able to find the warmth that radiated from every interaction between Impa and Nabooru. She had never felt the fierceness in their eyes when they looked at each other, or the gentleness in the space they created between them, or the grace with which they moved around one another. Perhaps it was simply her lack of experience, but in her couplings hands were unpleasantly sweaty and grasping while tongues were nothing more than saliva-coated muscles. The first time she had allowed herself to be penetrated had been brief and awkward, and her second experience had been, if it was possible, even more unpleasant.

Is that what marriage would be like? Painful and joyless fumbling until an heir was produced? A princess must be calm and composed, even in the most taxing and regrettable situations, but Zelda resented the expectation that she be bred like a prize horse. She thought, not for the first time, that she would gladly give up the privilege of her birthright if it meant that she could exercise full control over her time and her own body.

Out of the corner of her eye Zelda saw someone approach from the side, a young man whose fine clothing was only perfunctorily concealed by a shabby cloak. Zelda rolled her eyes as she finished her beer and set the glass down on the bar. He was more than likely one of the recently arrived gentry who had gone out looking for cheap thrills but was too stupid to know that Telma's Bar was not the place to find them.

As he drew closer, Zelda recognized him as the son of a military commander stationed in the northeast Akkala hills. Earlier this very evening she had seen him attempt to seduce one of her childhood rivals, a girl who had once teased her mercilessly about her dreams and now rarely spoke to her. When he had been formally presented to her by his father, however, he addressed her in a parody of sincere affection. Zelda only barely tolerated him then, and it made her stomach churn to be confronted with him again now. Since there seemed to be no avoiding it, she spun on her stool to face him, fixing him in as icy a glare as she could manage.

"My buddies dared me to come over and talk to you," he said as he sat down on a stool next to her.

"How courageous of you," Zelda muttered, twisting her face away from the whiskey fumes that rose from his body. A small cheer went up from a nearby table, but she refused to look at the rabble spurring him on.

"You're awfully pretty," he slurred, his voice thick with alcohol. "So tell me, are you are boy, or are you a girl?"

"Piss off," Zelda said in a dry voice, pulling the loose cloth at her neck up to cover her mouth as she stood to leave. The nobleman reached for her, and she kicked a leg of his stool, knocking him off balance and sending him tumbling onto the floor. After a moment of shock and confusion, he launched a volley of expletives up at her, but she let them bounce off her back as she headed for the door, suggestively fingering one of the knives sheathed at her waist to discourage anyone who might feel compelled to follow her. She may not have nailed down all the subtleties of her persona as Impaz, but warding off creeps came to her like second nature.

The slight chilliness of the outside air was a welcome relief after the clamor and press of bodies in the bar. As far as Zelda was concerned, the night was over; all she wanted to do was to wash her face, fall into her bed, and sleep until morning. She wished she possessed Ganondorf's ability to use magic to travel, and she resented the fact that she hadn't been able to go riding with him. During the next few days she could expect work and more work, and then even more work on top of that. The only thing that sparked excitement in her heart was the anticipation of being able to play the Gerudo song on her ocarina. Even if it did not transport her through time, she found the prospect of recreating the melody with her own breath strangely arousing.


	15. Dancing on the Eve of War

Zelda excused herself from court early by claiming that she was tired, but nothing could be further from the truth. She had slept long and late the night before, and throughout the day she was filled with an electric charge of energy. As she made her way to her rooms, she gradually shed all of the courtiers who accompanied her progress, and when she finally closed the door behind her she dismissed her attendants, telling them that she wished to prepare for bed on her own. Extracting herself from her gown and jewelry was no small feat, but she worked quickly and efficiently before dressing herself in a long tunic and a set of the loose pleated riding pants that had recently come into fashion in Castle Town.

She lit the flame of a small storm lantern and used the secret passage connecting her drawing room with the lower floor to go to the library. She worried that, on this night of all nights, it would be occupied by one or two of the more cultured of the recent arrivals to the castle or by a zealous couple seeking privacy, but the large room was empty and illuminated only by the moonlight that drifted through the windows. The library had always been drafty, and the stone walls held a slight chill, but Zelda was comfortable; she had always liked the cold.

She placed her lantern on an ornamental table as she settled into one of the overstuffed chairs arranged on the floor below the shelves. After sitting silently for a few moments with her eyes closed, she withdrew her mother's ocarina from her pocket and turned it over in her hands while she worked through the day's troubles in her mind.

Ruto had once again delayed her visit to the castle, and this time she hadn't bothered to provide an excuse. Zelda understood that the Zora princess was not being rude but rather demonstrating her trust in Zelda's friendship and goodwill, but she was still concerned. The leader of the Goron tribe, an enormous bearded man named Darunia, had also failed to attend court this evening. This was disconcerting, for Darunia was her father's equal in joviality, and it was not in his character to pass up an opportunity for drinking and dancing. Meanwhile, Zelda had been informed that a sizable party of Moblins had set up a large tent outside the city earlier that morning. This wasn't technically illegal, as they occupied common land that was open to anyone who wished to use it, but there had been vociferous complaints that Zelda suspected were not commensurate to any actual disturbance the group of Moblins may have actually caused.

As usual, Ganondorf hadn't shown his face at court. When she asked after him, her inquiries were met with mean-spirited gossip. A certain amount of rumor-mongering was to be expected, but Zelda was surprised by the venom lacing the general opinion of Ganondorf, which bled into the words of people whom she could usually count on to be fair and even-tempered. It was said that Ganondorf did not eat properly, and that he often touched his hands to his food like a savage, as if he were no better than a Moblin. People complained that he smelled strangely, and that his clothing was too dark and too loose, and that the gold and gems he wore in his hair and on his fingers were too flashy, and that he did not smile, and that his oddly colored eyes were too intense.

People whispered that they had seen Ganondorf in Castle Town in the company of Gerudo women, whom everyone knew only ventured into the kingdom to tempt and steal Hylian men. Some people claimed that he spent too much time in the stables, and that he would only speak with Darknuts, and that the attention he paid to Barghest's Hylian apprentice was inappropriate. Of course, people tittered, the stable boy _was_ beautiful. A young woman from the distant Hebra mountains hinted that there was a covert trade in amateur sketches of Link in various salacious poses, which caused Zelda to wonder just how much of the antipathy toward Ganondorf was actually a result of envy that he moved and spoke as he wished.

At a certain point in the evening Zelda managed to find a moment alone with her father. Thinking of Telma's advice from the previous night, she asked him why there were only a small handful of Gerudo at court. He glanced around them before quietly answering that the Gerudo had shunned both the castle and his company ever since the passing of the last queen. No one knew the truth of it, he said, but it was her mother whom they had blamed for the accident that resulted in her death. He apologized, adding that they would need to speak more of this later. He then turned to one of the Rito ambassadors, who was clutching two fresh glasses of wine in her feathers as she approached. Zelda's conversation with her father lasted little more than a minute, and then her attention was immediately directed elsewhere as she accepted one of the wineglasses and began chatting with the ambassador.

Zelda wasn't as gregarious as Daphnes, but she enjoyed the exchange of conversation. Nevertheless, she had reached her limit of dealing with people and politics for the evening. She was simultaneously tired yet filled with restless energy. People would talk if she went out riding so late at night, so she decided to read instead.

When she was younger, her favorite book had been about a teenage witch named Maple who went to live in a Rito aerie. At first it seemed that Maple was clumsy and had not been gifted with any particular talent, but through hard work and perseverance she eventually learned to fly. Zelda was struck with a pang of nostalgia as she remembered the story. She sat up in her chair, thinking that she would take the lantern between the shelves to locate the book. The strange metal of the ocarina had finally grown warm in her hands, however, and before she put it down she wanted to take a shot at playing the song Nabooru had performed for her.

She had been absentmindedly humming snatches of it all day, but when she held the mouthpiece of the ocarina to her lips she had trouble finding the right notes. The meter of the song was fast and lively, and her fingers were stiff from lack of practice. She tried to piece together the exact sequence of notes while she searched for the right key, and she wondered what Ganondorf's voice would sound like if he sang it. Suddenly she caught the melody, and her spirit rose as the song began to carry her.

Zelda closed her eyes, and she could feel the world around her flowing like water, or like time, or like music itself, and then she could hear other sounds – the crackle of fire and the clapping of hands and the strings of a guitar accompanying her. She knew that she had once again been transported through time, but instead of being frightened she continued to play. She was enjoying herself, and to her delight she now knew exactly how the song should go.

Zelda opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was a man sitting on a large rock with a guitar in his lap. He watched her and smiled as he as he played. His hair framed his face in long braids, and the delicate embroidery on the collar of his tunic shone in the light of the fire like golden scales. The lines and curves of his nose and jaw were unfamiliar to her, but from the second she saw him there was no doubt in Zelda's mind that this must be Ganondorf.

When the final chord closed and the last notes faded, the music was replaced by the cheers and laughter of a circle of women in old-fashioned Gerudo dress. One of them reached out to draw her into their circle, and as she was propelled forward she managed to shove the ocarina into a pocket of her pants, which had blossoming hems that were tucked into riding boots with flat soles whose leather flaps buttoned along her calves. To her delight she found that this clothing fit her perfectly and was more comfortable than anything she had ever worn.

Zelda was twirled into a dance with the other women, their muscular arms twining around hers. Beautiful floral designs drawn in sepia ink covered the exposed areas of their skin, and loose ribbons fluttered along after their unbound hair. She was surrounded by a swirl of smiles and bright eyes, and when it was over small cups of fragrant tea spiced with alcohol were passed between hands as toasts were made. Zelda realized that the women around her were speaking a version of the Gerudo language that was so archaic that she could recognize it only by its pattern of consonants and vowels, but she had no trouble understanding what was said to her. Words sprang into her mind and formed easily on her tongue, and when she thanked the women for the tea they began to talk with her, guiding her to one of the canvas pavilions set up around a large bonfire. She allowed herself to be swept along, overwhelmed by the sound of the crowd and the smell of roasting meat and peppers in the air and the dazzling colors of the silk banners adorning the canvas tents.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to find Ganondorf looking down at her.

"I know you're eager to speak with the princess," he said to her companions, "but surely you won't deny me the privilege of dancing with my fiancée on the night before our wedding."

Before she could object Ganondorf slid his hand down her waist, and then she was in his arms and they were dancing. It was nothing like the dance they'd shared in her own time. He held her tightly, and the pressure of his hands was forceful as he guided her. He used the gaps between the beats to touch her arms and her face and her hair, and no matter how they moved he kept his eyes fixed on her.

Zelda was astounded by his audacity. She knew that she could break away from his grasp if she made an effort, but he was so close and his hands were so strong and he smelled so good. She leaned into him and matched her movements to his, justifying to herself that it would be awkward if she pushed him away before the dance was over.

The song seemed to take no time at all, and when it was finished everyone around them cheered. Ganondorf lifted her by the waist and spun her around before setting her back on her feet and kissing her hand. The gesture felt so oddly intimate that she was finally shocked into wondering where they were and what they were doing.

Blushing fiercely, Zelda glanced over Ganondorf's shoulder. She could see the white stone of the castle walls in the distance, and she deduced that the Gerudo must have set up their camp in the field that used to lie between the castle and the city. A second later she noticed that the dim outline of the structure against the moonlit sky was nothing she had ever seen before. Its towers were not the practical rectangles she had known all her life, but pointed spires rising elegantly into the sky. She had come across architectural drawings of cathedrals with the same features, but the only examples of these buildings that still remained in her own time were far away from the center of Hyrule. Zelda estimated that she must have traveled more than four hundred years into the past.

A chain of associations clicked together in her mind, and Zelda drew in a sharp intake of breath. Four hundred years ago there had been a civil war that resulted in most of the castle being destroyed. It was amazing to see the historical edifice with her own eyes, even at a distance, but she was struck by the fear that this vision would show her the opening salvo of the war. She seemed to have found herself in the midst of a celebration of some kind, but was she safe? And had she understood Ganondorf correctly when he referred to her as his finacée?

Ganondorf seemed to sense that she was upset. He motioned to one of the women attending them, who stepped forward to offer him a small bottle of water. Its surface was frosty with condensation. He touched the smooth glass to her forehead in what Zelda assumed was a ritual gesture before leading her away from the circle, all the while chatting lightly about how fortunate it was that the women organizing his travel party had the foresight to bring ice along with them. They wove their way around several tents before finally coming to a stop at the base of a tree with white bark and short silver leaves.

"It seems you've been taking good care of the olive tree I sent you," he observed as he helped her sit down at its base. Zelda leaned back against the trunk and drank deeply, finding that she was unbearably thirsty.

"I was afraid that it wouldn't do well in this climate. You must have given it a lot of attention," he continued. "In return, I'd like you to have this."

He knelt beside her and presented her with a delicate golden ring adorned with a stylized representation of the Gerudo crest. His words and movements were so sudden that Zelda could only stare at him, unsure of how he expected her to respond. "I wanted you to have it before the ceremony tomorrow," he said, holding his left hand out for hers. Zelda hesitated. Ganondorf seemed to be serious, but what did it matter, in the end? It was just a vision, and she could not change the past.

 _The goddess grant me wisdom_ , Zelda prayed.

She placed her hand into his, and he turned it so that her palm was facing upward. Instead of slipping the ring onto her finger, he pressed it into the center of her palm and gently squeezed her fingers around it. He withdrew his hand, and she held the ring up to admire the metalwork.

"Do you know what the crest represents?" he asked.

Zelda smiled. "Some people say that it represents the false eyes on the back of the king cobra," she answered, remembering the words of the Ganondorf in her own time. "But some people say they're the eyes of the sand goddess, while some say they are the eyes of the Gerudo dragonfly. Together the two eyes create perspective, just as a deep bond between two people will balance and strengthen them both."

When she looked up from the ring, Ganondorf was smiling at her. He touched the tips of his fingers to her cheek, and then he leaned forward and kissed her.

Zelda immediately tensed and pulled back. She looked down, unable to meet Ganondorf's eyes. She watched as he covered her hand with his, and when she raised her eyes he was gazing at her with concern.

"We don't have to do this, if that's not what you want," he said softly.

Zelda was unsure whether he was referring to kissing her, or to something else. "Do what?" she asked bluntly, still too shocked to find polite words.

"You've tried to hide it from me, but I know your brother and his council oppose our marriage. We know that many of the Hylian noble families have decided not to attend the ceremony, and we know why we weren't invited to stay in the castle. I know what I'm asking of you – if you leave, you won't be able to come back to Hyrule. No one would blame you if you called this off. I..." He paused and squeezed her hand. "I wouldn't blame you. We haven't spent this much time together in years, and I would understand if you've changed your mind."

Zelda stared at Ganondorf as what he said to her began to sink in. They were going to be married? That couldn't be possible. If there had been a union between a Hylian princess and one of the Gerudo leaders, she would have read about it.

"Please, tell me, Zelda," Ganondorf continued as he knelt in front of her. "Do you really want this?"

Zelda still didn't understand what he was asking. If their marriage had been arranged, and if matters had gotten to the point that there was a large group of Gerudo camping out in the field surrounding the castle so that they could attend the ceremony, then everything had already been decided. Was he really giving her a choice? Did what she want really matter that much to him?

"I don't know," she answered him honestly.

Ganondorf grimaced. He looked like he was about to say something, but instead he shifted his weight and sat down on the grass beside her.

"I've loved you since I first saw you, you know," he said after a moment had passed, not looking at her as he spoke. "Even as a boy visiting Hyrule for the first time, I knew I wanted to marry you. My mothers and aunts used to tease me, telling me what a silly fantasy this was, but I could never give it up. Every single letter you sent me I read over and over until the paper started to tear along its creases. Sometimes I even traced the words just to feel how your hand moved."

Zelda inhaled sharply, realizing that she had done the same with the scrap of paper Ganondorf left behind in the library. She told herself that she was just trying to figure out what was written there, but there was something more, and it was exactly how this man described it – a part of her had wanted to feel how his hand moved as he wrote.

"Forgive me for being presumptuous, but I read your words so carefully that I may have read too much into them, and it hurt me how much it pains you to be confined to this castle. You never said as much, but I could tell."

"Ganondorf..." Zelda murmured, trying to anchor herself as the reality of this vision threatened to overtake her sense of self. The woman whose body she occupied was a stranger to her, but still Ganondorf's description of this princess echoed her own frustrations. She did hate being confined to the castle, and she hated that the progression of her days and nights was dictated by a schedule that kept her busy at all times and trapped her within her duties.

Ganondorf slid his hands over hers and looked at her once again. "Let me take you away from here," he said, his voice quiet but compelling. "In our city you can come and go as you please, and you can ride and travel wherever your will guides you. It's expected that Gerudo rulers leave the desert and journey to the lands outside of Hyrule. My family and advisors will welcome you and the expertise you bring, and no one will expect you to perform for the court like a trained bird in a cage of silk."

Zelda was mesmerized by Ganondorf's eyes as he spoke. She knew it was dangerous to be swept up in a reality that was not her own, but the fantasy he promised seemed, in that moment, to be everything she had ever wanted.

"When you wrote to me," he continued, "you told me about the books you read, all the stories of brave heroes and evil wizards and faraway lands. I loved your words, but I want you to be able to write about what you see with your own eyes."

As he spoke, he stroked and caressed her hands, pressing his fingertips against hers and massaging her palms with his thumbs. There was an intimacy to his touch that she had not felt when they danced, and heat rose to her face when she realized that she did not want him to stop. And was that wrong? If this was just a vision, what did it matter what she did or said? No one was watching her, and no one would judge her.

"I'm afraid that I'm not ready to leave Hyrule," she said, gaining confidence in the ease with which she was able to speak in a voice and language that were not her own. "I may not be ready now, and I don't know if I'll ever be ready. Everything I've ever known is here, and what little ability I have is limited to my familiarity with routine and protocol. All I know is being a princess in this castle, and if I leave I won't even have that."

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Ganondorf replied, tracing the valleys between her knuckles with his thumb. "And to tell you the truth, I'm nervous myself. I wasn't sure I was ready to return to Hyrule again, not after what happened last time. You saw it with your own eyes, and I don't have to tell you how we're hated and feared in your kingdom. My own mothers weren't happy about me insisting on marrying a Hylian, but I've never been happier. No one has ever done anything like this – but Zelda, we can make our own way."

Ganondorf tilted his face toward her, and the light of the distant fire caught his strange golden eyes, making them shine. _It's just a vision_ , Zelda thought, and then she leaned forward and kissed him. His lips were softer than she imagined, and the scent of his skin was delicious. He moved his hands up her arms and around her shoulders as he pulled her to him and opened her lips with his tongue. As the kiss deepened he was not gentle, and it thrilled Zelda to allow herself to yield to the ferocity of his ardor. No one had ever touched her or wanted her like this, and she was almost jealous of this princess for having generated such a fierce desire. She grew bolder, caressing the thick muscle of Ganondorf's shoulders and neck as she drew his body closer to hers.

"Lord Ganondorf!" a woman's voice interrupted them. Zelda broke the kiss and pulled away as the messenger approached. "A young man has been sent to retrieve the princess."

"Then go back and tell him that he can wait," Ganondorf snapped at her, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. She nodded her head in acknowledgment, but even in the dim light Zelda could see the shadow of anxiety that passed over her face.

"This is your brother's doing, I'm sure of it," Ganondorf muttered. He clenched one of his hands in a fist and cracked his knuckles, and Zelda watched in horror as his face twisted into a scowl of rage. "Stay here," he said to her, not even bothering to look in her direction as he spoke. "I will send someone to guard you. I will protect you from your family if it's the last thing I do."

Zelda felt her face solidify into a mask as she was pierced by a keen sense of annoyance. How dare this man pledge his love to her and promise her freedom only to order her to remain behind in a conflict? She started to get to her feet, planning to tell Ganondorf that she was perfectly capable of protecting herself, when suddenly the air was split by a multitude of screams. Zelda froze, and then she was knocked back against the trunk of the tree by the force of an explosion that boomed into the sky.

She threw her arms in front of her face, expecting to be struck by a blast of fire or a hail of debris, but when she opened her eyes Ganondorf was crouching over her to shield her from harm. The anger was gone from his face, and what had replaced it was pure fear. In that moment she understood exactly why she had never read about the union between a Hylian princess and a Gerudo leader, and she felt the frost of a cold fury settle over her features. She touched her fingertips lightly to the smooth skin of Ganondorf's jaw as she met his eyes, sharpening his will with her own. His face slowly hardened under the ice of her gaze.

"Go," she commanded.

He nodded in understanding, and then he stood and strode off into the hellish night. Zelda knew what must happen next, but she had no wish to see it with her own eyes. As the discordant chorus of terrified voices and cries of pain surrounding her grew louder, she withdrew her ocarina and began to play.


	16. The Twilight Realm

Zelda opened her eyes to find herself back in her own time. The flame of the lantern on the table beside her had died, and she was surrounded by darkness. After the din of battle, the silence of the empty library was oppressive.

Her fury at what she had seen in her vision slowly ebbed away, but she still felt pulled by the tide of cold determination that had risen within her as she witnessed a terrible scene of unprovoked violence. She felt alive and charged with energy, but she was unsure of how to channel it.

She lowered the ocarina from her lips and allowed herself a moment of reflection. She considered jumping headlong into a spate of research in order to discover exactly what the truth of that ancient war might have been, but when she shifted her weight in preparation to rise from her seat she realized that she hadn't brought anything that she could use to relight the lamp. She grimaced and wished, not for the first time, that she had a better command of magic. Her desire to create fire was so strong that she could almost feel the spell right on the tip of her tongue, waiting to be realized, but the exact words and melody she needed escaped her. As a young girl, she had been taught to keep her prophetic dreams and other mystical abilities to herself, and the scant magical education she received had ended abruptly with the death of her mother.

Zelda clicked her tongue in frustration and exhaled slowly. She thought of what the Ganondorf in her vision had said about there being no need for a monarch to remain confined in a castle. _Once my coronation ceremony is over and done with, and once I'm queen_ , she resolved, _I will go wherever I want. I will journey through Hyrule, and I will visit the lands beyond it._ If only there were a way to travel more efficiently. Ganondorf had offered to show her how the relevant magic functioned, but she had not seen him since Link interrupted their conversation in the stables. Of course, she admitted to herself, the blame was partially her own for not seeking him out. _I wonder_ , she mused, having heard a fair share of gossip that the Gerudo emissary kept strange hours, _if it's not too late to send him a message..._

A sudden sound caught Zelda's attention, startling her from her reverie. When it was repeated, she realized that something was tapping on the glass of one of the library windows. This was strange, as there were no trees next to these windows, which were almost six feet above the ground of the inner courtyard garden they faced. Again there was a rapping at the window, with two beats. It was as if someone were trying to get her attention.

Intrigued, she stood up and walked to the window. To her immense surprise, Ganondorf was facing her on the other side. Despite the odd circumstances, she felt almost as if she had been expecting him. She laughed out of sheer amazement and broke into a smile. He returned her smile and gestured toward himself, signaling her to join him in the garden. When she came closer, he placed his palm against the window.

Without hesitating, Zelda put her hand on the glass against his. She felt herself being pulled forward, and in the space of a heartbeat she was on the other side of the wall, standing on nothing but air. As she fell forward, Ganondorf caught her, and he held her as they drifted downward.

Once Zelda's feet were on the ground again, Ganondorf released her and stepped back.

"I thought I might find you here," he said, still smiling.

"How did you do that?" she asked him.

He opened his mouth but then shook his head. "It would be easier to show you," he answered.

She reached out to take his hand. "Then show me," she insisted.

He nodded, and then she could feel the world becoming soft around her, like a cube of sugar melting into tea. It was the same liquid feeling of weightlessness that she experienced at the start of her visions, but instead of being struck with vertigo she felt as sharp and focused as an arrow. She realized that her body was resonating with some sort of power, and she quickly attuned herself to the same sense of flow that guided her when she played the ocarina.

"It looks like you've found the frequency," Ganondorf murmured. He took her other hand in his. "Are you ready to make the jump?"

Zelda nodded, not wanting to interrupt her sense of harmonic resonance by speaking.

She felt drawn forward by a gentle force. Moving with it was as effortless as allowing herself to be guided in a dance. She decided to keep her eyes open, and as she watched the world blinked into total blackness. Before she had a chance to understand what was happening, it just as rapidly became suffused with an eerie golden light.

Zelda gasped and dropped Ganondorf's hands. They were still in the small courtyard garden facing the inner windows of the library, but it was drastically different. No longer were the plants well-ordered and carefully maintained; everything from the grass to the ivy was overgrown and unkempt. Instead of a well filled with soil, there was an ornamental fountain in the center of the castle walls surrounding the small space. Water spilled from the sides of a shallow basin and fell onto the delicately carved marble of its base without making a sound.

Zelda was fascinated by this silence, and she was entranced by the gleam of the golden light on the falling water, which looked like a curtain of brightly shimmering fabric. The quality of the light was so odd that Zelda couldn't help but glance up, wondering what sort of otherworldly sun or moon she would see in the sky. She inhaled sharply when she saw that there was nothing above her but blackness, an empty void pierced by not even a single star. And yet the darkness emitted an eldritch illumination by which Zelda could see the fantastic spires and stone ornaments of a castle that was similar to but very different from her own.

"What is this place?" she whispered.

"The Sheikah once called it the Twilight Realm," Ganondorf answered, studying her face closely.

"The Sheikah?" This was not a word that she'd expected Ganondorf to say, and she didn't know how to respond. She stepped forward, intending to walk to the fountain in order to give herself time to think, but there was an odd resistance against the movement of her limbs. It was like walking through water, or like trying to run in a dream.

Zelda lost her balance and stumbled. Ganondorf caught her, and she grabbed his arm to steady herself.

"This is Sheikah magic?" she asked. Realizing that she had no reason to doubt what Ganondorf had told her, she immediately rephrased her question. "Why would the Sheikah have magic like this?"

"According to what I read in old Gerudo manuscripts, the royal family taught it to them."

"I see..." Zelda muttered. The implications of this information were disturbing. Why would the royal family have taught the Sheikah magic that they themselves no longer knew how to use? Why would the Gerudo have knowledge of such things? Legends were legends, but this magic was clearly real. This meant that other worlds did indeed exist alongside Hyrule.

"Is this one of the 'other worlds' you mentioned earlier?" she asked Ganondorf, no longer able to contain her curiosity. "How did you find out about this place? When did you first come here? _Why_ did you come here?"

"It's a long story..." Ganondorf frowned and looked away, and for the first time Zelda noticed how he was dressed. He wore dark clothing with high riding boots, and hard leather gauntlets covered his forearms. The collar of his jacket was open, and his unbound hair was disheveled. There were odd stains on the fabric of the legs of his pants, and pale mud was streaked and splattered on his riding boots. He smelled faintly of mulch and tree sap.

Zelda decided that she would wait to question him about his appearance. She had learned enough about Ganondorf to know that he would talk to her when the moment was right, but he seemed to have been caught off guard by this encounter, even though he was the one who had come to her. In fact, very little about this situation made sense to her. She _would_ speak to him, and she would do it tonight, but first she needed to set him at ease.

"Then... tell me," Zelda asked, hoping that a question with an easy answer would dispel the awkwardness of their conversation, "how do we travel through this realm?"

"I'll show you," he responded, extending his hand once again. As Zelda took it, she noticed that the palm of his glove was scuffed and coated with dust. She bit her lip, thinking that perhaps she should just go ahead and ask him where he'd been, but then he jumped into the air, propelling both of them rapidly upward. They rose as if they'd been shot from a cannon, and then they stopped just as suddenly and remained hanging, suspended at the level of the eaves of the roof over the library.

"This entire realm is made of magic," Ganondorf said, speaking in a low voice as Zelda squeezed his hand, holding on for dear life. "You simply envision where you wish to go, and you can travel as quickly as light – or shadow."

Zelda loosened her grip on Ganondorf's hand as she surveyed the tiled roofs and spires. The castle resembled the one she had just seen in her vision, and from this vantage point she could appreciate the marvels of its architecture. Even her untrained eye could see that the building was designed to favor style and ornamentation over practicality, with ornate stonework highlighting the joints of the high walls and the arches over the stained glass windows.

It occurred to her to wonder how much all of this had cost. In her own time, the royal family was quite comfortable, but they never could have afforded such opulence. Zelda was not a strong believer in anything as simple and facile as "tradition," at least not to the extent that her father was, but the curved lines and sharp angles of the architecture filled her with a deep longing, almost like nostalgia for something she had never seen. Whoever had destroyed all of this must have been so utterly consumed by rage that not even beauty could stay their hands.

Zelda was so overwhelmed that she momentarily forgot she was suspended in the air above the castle, and when she remembered she was filled with an effervescent sense of joy. This was like something out of a story, but it was real, and it was happening to _her_. Despite the ostensible glamour of being a princess, and despite the glittering jewels and gowns and banquets that adorned her nights at court, Zelda's life was largely occupied by formal hearings and tautological legislation and the endless petty details of bureaucracy. She could manage the small and innocuous spells that her mother had taught her, and sometimes she saw glimpses of the future in her dreams, but she had never imagined that magic could be responsible for something so utterly fantastic.

Everything that had happened to her in the last hour was so unexpected and unbelievable that Zelda was almost overcome by an urge to start laughing. She felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes, and she released Ganondorf's hand as she turned to get a better look at the castle.

Zelda could sense something resembling a cushion of air under her feet. She shifted her weight slightly as she took a small step forward. She did not fall, and so she took another step, and then another. She found that it helped if she imagined that she was standing on the marble floor of the Great Hall. She straightened her back and lifted her chin, and she was delighted to find that this helped her maintain her balance. Without giving a thought to what Ganondorf would think, she attempted to replicate a few steps of the dance she had just performed in her vision. Her body felt lighter than a cloud, so she completed the sequence with a dramatic spin. As she turned Ganondorf caught her, and he pulled her close to him as he guided her through the rest of the movements. Following his lead felt even more natural the second time around, but Zelda was still out of breath when they finished. In the heavy silence of the twilight, she could hear her heart beat in her chest.

"Where did you learn that?" Ganondorf asked. His breath was hot in her ear, and a sensation like an electric jolt passed through her.

"It must have been in a dream," she muttered. She didn't know how she should answer him, and she was torn between hoping he wouldn't pursue the matter and wishing that he would.

"A dream?" He laughed softly, and she could feel the vibrations of the sound rumbling through his chest. "Was it a dream, then, when you told me you were afraid to leave Hyrule?"

"Oh!" Zelda gasped, and every muscle in her body froze. She wanted to be back on solid ground again, immediately, and then in the blink of an eye she was. It took her a moment to reorient herself, but she did not stumble.

A second later, Ganondorf winked into existence beside her.

"So you saw what I saw," she said without prevarication, meeting his eyes with a challenge.

"You _were_ there, then," he responded, gazing at her with an equal intensity.

"Did you see everything?"

"I saw the dance, and then I saw the explosion... But I couldn't control anything. I could only watch."

Zelda shook her head, amazed by the revelation that Ganondorf had shared this vision with her. "Did you see the tower?" she asked, not knowing how else to refer to her earlier vision.

"I did, and I saw the attack on the castle as well."

Zelda felt herself blush as she remembered what else he must have witnessed.

"And did you see..." she trailed off, and then flinched when she realized that she had drawn her fingers to her lips.

"That's why I came to see you," he admitted, apparently as embarrassed as she was.

Without saying anything in response, Zelda turned toward an old and crumbling stone bench set against one of the castle walls. She had grown used to how movement worked in this strange place, and she was able to walk to it and sit down without tripping. After she settled herself, she turned her head and saw that Ganondorf was sitting beside her. She hadn't seen him move, but she supposed that was just how things worked here. He didn't attempt to speak to her, which was a relief, especially since she didn't know what to say.

Zelda sat back and let her eyes wander through the garden. It was beautiful in its disarray. She did her best to tend the small garden on the north side of the library, but it had never been a priority for her. The neglected enclosure didn't get much light, so it was never in danger of becoming a jungle, and she preferred to let the plants grow without interruption. The outer gardens surrounding the castle were meticulously manicured, with neatly trimmed hedges and evenly mown grass. The landscapers and gardeners on the castle staff had excellent taste, but she often thought that she would have preferred a bit more wildness.

She allowed her mind to drift back to the times that she and Ganondorf had played in this garden when they were younger. It had been something of a sanctuary for her then, but its only purpose now was to grow the Sheikah flowers that could not survive in direct sunlight.

Zelda glanced at Ganondorf and saw that his eyes were fixed on the silent princess lilies, which were growing in profusion within a tangle of tall grass.

"This realm was created during the war that you saw in your vision," he said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "That _we_ saw, in your vision," he corrected himself. "The Sheikah didn't make it, but they used it as a prison, of sorts. This is where they sent the most dangerous of the captives that Hyrule took during the war. Gerudo were exiled here, as were the members of the Sheikah tribe who sided with us. Executing these people would have created political problems, so it was more convenient that they disappear."

Zelda frowned. "Are they still here?" she asked, thinking that it was entirely possible that time flowed differently in this place.

"No one knows what happened to them. The written histories of the Gerudo are silent on the matter, and I don't need to tell you how secretive the Sheikah are. The only thing I could find was a record of how the ritual of banishment was performed. It took years, but I was eventually able to use the description to work backward from the stated effect of the magic. Since I came to this place, it's been empty, and you can see how it's deteriorated. Time doesn't seem to pass here, and you've already experienced how space has become a bit more..."

"Unstable?" Zelda offered, remembering how it felt to be suspended in the air like a drop of oil on top of a glass of water.

Ganondorf nodded in response but said nothing else. His shoulders were stiff, and he was frowning in concentration. After watching him for a moment, Zelda realized that she recognized that look as the same frustrated expression he had worn as a child when he could not find the right words to express something he wanted to say.

Zelda realized that, if she wanted to ask him about what he had been doing and what his intentions were, it was now or never.

"Ganondorf," she began, leaning forward to place her hand on his knee. "You told me that Hyrule will burn. What did you mean?"

Ganondorf exhaled slowly, and she watched the tension drain from his posture as he relaxed.

"Every three hundred years or so Hyrule is struck by a calamity," he finally said.

"A calamity?"

"The Gerudo have a legend about a calamity that begins in your kingdom but inevitably spreads to affect us as well. If we don't take precautions against it, it will destroy us. It's written that instances of this event have decimated the Gerudo in the past, reducing the people of our kingdom to poverty and desperation. Hyrule's legends speak of this calamity too, and here it is called 'Ganon.'"

"A legendary calamity? That occurs every three hundred years? I'm not sure I understand..."

"But Zelda," Ganondorf objected, turning his head to meet her eyes, "you've seen it."

"In the visions?" Zelda shook her head slightly. "What I saw was you attacking Hyrule."

"Me?" To her surprise, Ganondorf laughed. "All Gerudo don't look alike, you know."

Zelda squeezed his knee. "You know what I mean," she insisted.

"I don't have any memories of past lives, and I don't believe in reincarnation in the first place," Ganondorf said as he sat up, covering Zelda's hand with his own as he did so.

"But it may as well have been me," he continued after a moment. "When this calamity happens, there is always a Ganondorf."

"What do you mean?"

"If a male child is born to a queen under a specific set of constellations, the event is believed to be an omen. He's named Ganondorf, for he is meant to stop the calamity."

Zelda was disturbed by the acerbic tone of his voice. "And how does he... Or rather, how are you meant to do that?" she asked.

"I am a sacrifice," he said simply. "And you, Zelda, are destined to kill me."


	17. A Silence Now Broken

"You think I'm going to kill you?" Zelda was so surprised that she couldn't help but laugh. "That's absurd."

Ganondorf glared at her. "This is no laughing matter," he growled. He tried to move away, but she squeezed his thigh to hold him in place.

"You're at least a head and shoulders taller than I am, and you must weigh a dozen stone more than me. Even if I were well armed and you were practically naked, I still don't see how I would be a threat to you."

"It's not that simple," he grunted.

"I'm sure it's not," she agreed amiably. "Why don't you explain it to me?"

Ganondorf looked at her and then looked away, once again fixing his gaze on a cluster of the silent princess lilies, which were so brilliantly white that they seemed to emit their own luminescence into the strange twilight. He didn't say anything, but the intent expression on his face told Zelda that he wasn't going to run away from her and the conversation she was asking him to have. Hylia help her if he did flee, for she had no way of getting back to Hyrule.

"I'm not sure where to begin," he eventually muttered.

"Then let me start," she offered. "I have some questions I've been meaning to ask you."

"And just what is it you think you want to know?" Ganondorf scowled, but the stiff line of his shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Quite a few things, actually," Zelda admitted. "Let's see if I can narrow them down to three." She raised her hand and began counting on her fingers. "First, you've spent almost no time at court, so what have you been doing while you've been here in Hyrule? Second, where have you been going at night? And third, why are you dressed like that?"

"Why am I dressed like this?" Ganondorf looked down at himself and raised his eyebrows, apparently noticing the mud splattered on his boots for the first time, but then he looked back up at her and sneered. "Why are my sartorial choices of such interest to a princess? Am I not dressed well enough for you?"

Zelda had already decided to trust him when she allowed herself to fall into his arms through the library window, so she answered him as truthfully as she could.

"There have been reports of a Gerudo man sighted on Death Mountain, and the Gorons are ill at ease, saying that the dodongos are restless. Darunia is all toasts and smiles, but his good humor masks his anxiety, which I can see in the way he won't meet my father's eyes. He's as close as an uncle to me. It hurts me to see him in pain, but the way he hesitates to mention his worries to my father hurts even more."

Ganondorf started to say something, but Zelda raised her hand to cut him off. "And there have also been reports of a Gerudo man in Zora's Domain," she continued. "I've heard that he's young and handsome and shrouded in black, and that he's cursed their deity. Ruto has sent me shallow assurances and hastily written excuses, but she hasn't yet come to Hyrule for my coronation, even though I count her as one of my dearest friends. She's never once failed to confide in me or let me know when she needs my help, so the problem she's facing must be truly difficult."

Ganondorf gave her a pained look. "Zelda, I – " he began, but she took his hand and squeezed his fingers to indicate that she was not yet done.

"And meanwhile, I've heard gossip about you and Link, yet neither of you has been willing to tell me that you're acquainted with one another. Did you know, Link has never told me the truth about where he lived and what did before he came to this castle. And now that he's apparently friendly with you, he seems not to want the two of us to see each other. And what about our stable master Barghest, who's lost almost all of his Hylian staff except Link? He's been observed speaking with other Darknuts in the early morning and late evening, almost as if he didn't want to be seen. A large group of Moblins has set up camp outside the castle walls, and there's something about them that's been making people nervous. Where did they come from, and what are they trying to do here? Or rather, who has been spreading rumors about them in order to stir up trouble?"

"Zelda..." Ganondorf did not turn away, but his eyes grew softer. It seemed to her that he was regarding her with something like awe. She took advantage of this opening and finally asked what she wanted to know.

"And now I'm here with you. You were right outside the library as soon as my vision ended, and I assume you used magic to get here. But the vision we saw interrupted something, didn't it? Where were you, before you came here? Why are you covered in mud and grass stains, and why do you smell like..." She reached up and allowed herself to stroke a stray strand of his hair, which was suffused with a fragrance like moss and pine boughs. "...why do you smell like the forest?"

Ganondorf didn't respond. Zelda watched his face carefully as he appraised her in turn. She knew that she should wait for him to say something, but she was on the verge of losing her patience, dignity be damned. She had no desire to behave like a princess; she simply wanted to be Ganondorf's friend. She dropped his hand and once again slid her fingers over his knee.

"You can tell me," she said softly. "I promise that I'll listen. It's finally just the two of us."

"Finally, you say?" Ganondorf shot her an acrimonious glance. "You've asked your questions, but what do you have to say to me?"

"What do I have to say to you?" Zelda looked away as she repeated his question. What _did_ she have to say? Did he want her to apologize for distrusting him? Yet surely he understood that his behavior was suspicious. Did he want her to apologize for having kept such a close watch on him? If she had wanted to pry information out of Ganondorf, it would not have been difficult. That's why her family had such a close relationship with the Sheikah, after all. _In fact_ , she thought with a flare of irritation, _Ganondorf should be apologizing to me_. But that was not, she realized, what she wanted. Not after what she had seen in her visions, and not after she danced with him in the starless sky above this haunted castle.

"What do I have to say to you?" she repeated once more. "Only that I'm worried about you. Whatever you're doing, I want to help."

"Why would you want to help me?" Even through the disdain in Ganondorf's voice, Zelda could feel him pulling closer to her, and she wasn't surprised when he touched his fingers lightly to her cheek.

Zelda covered his hand with her own, gently pressing his palm against her face. "Why?" She smiled. "I'm surprised you need to ask. We were friends, once, when we were children. I care for you."

Ganondorf pressed the pad of his thumb against her lips. "Do you still care for me as a child?"

Zelda shook her head. She could taste the salt of Ganondorf's skin on the tip of her tongue. She guided his hand from her lips to her chin and then raised her face to look at him. He met her gaze, and the moment stretched out, filled with possibilities that were so tangible and solid that she felt she could almost reach out and touch them. Ganondorf's eyes gleamed golden, and she could not look away from him. He hesitated, but after a sweet eternity he leaned down, bowed his head forward, and kissed her.

Ganondorf had kissed her hungrily in their vision, but now that they had returned to their own time he seemed almost afraid to touch her. When the kiss broke, as softly as a sigh, he met her eyes once again, asking an unvoiced question. Zelda responded by taking his hand and guiding it to the back of her neck. His skin was rough against hers, and she could smell the bitter tang of the aged leather of his gauntlets. He twined his fingers through her unbound hair with surprising gentleness.

"You said we could use the Twilight Realm to travel," she suggested.

"Where would you like to go?" he responded, his voice as thick and dark as syrup.

"Take me to your bedroom in the castle," she said, making it clear from her tone that it was not a request.

"As Her Highness commands," Ganondorf murmured, and then he swept her off her feet and into his arms as he stood. Holding her close to him, he stepped forward through the Twilight. The world seemed to rip and tear around him, but the way he moved forward through the jagged hole in reality seemed as effortless as passing through a gauze curtain.

On the other side of the darkness was a large and well-appointed room. Zelda recognized the layout of one of the larger guest suites, but it was nevertheless strange to her eyes. The usual sitting room furniture had been replaced with low couches, and the side tables were lower as well. Zelda had seen illustrations of the Gerudo fortress, so she understand that the arrangement of this room was meant to be an approximation of typical Gerudo accommodations. _Perhaps I'll visit his home in person, one day_ , she thought as he carried her across the room.

Ganondorf set her on her feet beside a one of the couches, so she sat down, leaning against a pile of richly embroidered pillows. She sank back farther than she had expected, but the softness of the fabric was divine, and everything was suffused with the faint and pleasant smell of fragrant oil. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, smiling as she recognized the scent of sandalwood that she had associated with Ganondorf when they were younger.

When she opened her eyes, she saw him standing over her.

"You are a marvel," he whispered as his eyes settled on hers.

"I did not ask you to bring me here to marvel," she challenged him, drawing herself into an upright position.

"Then tell me," he said as he knelt before her, "what would you have me do?"

"Explain," she said simply. "Tell me where you've been going and what you've been doing. I want to help you, but I need to understand what all of this is about."

Ganondorf grimaced before rising to his feet. "Would you like some tea?" he asked.

Zelda thought about pushing him to answer her immediately, but instead she simply nodded. If he needed a few moments to collect himself, then she would let him have them.

As he busied himself with a brass samovar in an alcove set into a far corner, Zelda took the opportunity to look around the room. There were books on every available surface. They were scattered without rhyme or reason, and some of their spines were bent open in a way that made Zelda frown in disapproval. Several musical instruments were lying about as well – a hand harp, a flute, a guitar like the one Link favored, and another string instrument whose name she didn't know. What surprised her the most, however, was the profusion of flowers displayed in vases arranged around the room. Where would Ganondorf have gotten so many flowers, and why did he have them?

"I went to the Gorons first," Ganondorf said without preamble as he returned to her.

He offered her a shallow ceramic cup veined with gold. It had no handle, but it did not burn her hand when she took it. The steam rising from the pale tea was fragrant, and it was like jasmine blooming on her tongue when she tasted it.

"The Gorons have a treasure I wished to see with my own eyes," Ganondorf continued. "It was given to them in antiquity by the royal family of Hyrule as a symbol of goodwill, and it thus stood to reason that their king would know of its whereabouts. I did not announce myself as an official emissary of the Gerudo when I arrived, but I did not make a secret of my identity. Darunia nevertheless refused to acknowledge my request for an audience. While I waited for a favorable reply, I learned that this treasure was not kept within their city, but deep within a cavern that was sacred to them. It took me days to locate the entrance. When I made my way inside I found that it housed a magnificent temple within its depths, but this temple was empty. There were no priests or worshipers or Gorons of any kind there, and there was no trace of the treasure. Unfortunately, my presence disturbed the dodongos, as well as your fabulous Goron-eating dragon, but there was nothing to be done. I wonder, why would such a sacred space have been abandoned?"

 _Why indeed. And what's this treasure you were seeking?_ Zelda wanted to ask, but instead she took another sip of tea. Ganondorf watched her lift the cup to her mouth, his gaze lingering on her fingers. He saw that she saw him watching, and he looked away before drinking deeply from his own cup. Based on the condensation on its surface, it was more than likely filled with ice water.

"Next I went to the Zora," he eventually said, setting his cup down on a pile of books. Zelda cringed at the thought of the ring it would leave but held her tongue as Ganondorf began to pace around the room.

"I was able to meet with King Ralis, but the audience was an insult, a circle of pleasantries that led nowhere. My business was with the queen, but she was nowhere to be found, and I was prevented from making further inquiries. I was also prevented from meeting with the princess. Ruto has always been diligent in our correspondence, and so I tried, night after night, to find a way to send word to her."

Zelda felt a stab of jealousy. Why had Ruto not told her of this? But no, she realized, Ruto would not have informed her about Ganondorf's visits, as she apparently hadn't been told herself. The jealousy she felt had nothing to do with a lapse in her friendship with Ruto and everything to do with Ganondorf's estimation of his relationship with the Zora princess. Even though Ganondorf's back was turned, Zelda was careful to keep her face neutral.

"It was in Hyrule that I was finally able to uncover the reason why the Zora kept me at a fin's length. One of their diplomats told me that the large fish they call Jabun lives in a glacial lake in the mountains above their domain, and they believe that this creature regulates the temperature of the water that flows downstream. It has recently become agitated, and those in the Zora royal family responsible for its care have become concerned with its health – and with the livelihood of their own people. Like the Gorons, the Zora also have a treasure from Hyrule, and this treasure seems to have doubled as a symbol of their covenant with Jabun. I assumed the Zora princess would keep this treasure on her person, but she's no longer in possession of it."

"And how do you know that?" Zelda snapped, unable to help herself from imagining a meeting between Ganondorf and Ruto that was far more friendly than their own had been when she first encountered him in the hallway outside the castle library.

He turned and looked at her sharply. She felt herself blushing, and the corner of his mouth turned up in a crooked smile. "I observed the ritual feeding of Jabun. It went... poorly," he said, shaking his head. "Afterward, I was able to track the princess's movements quite closely, and I overheard a conversation between her and a pair of older priestesses. She was distraught, and they were unkind. They believe that the Zora's Sapphire is the key to the ritual, and they blamed Ruto for its disappearance."

"Zora's Sapphire? That's the stone on Ruto's signet ring. Is that the 'treasure' you were looking for?"

Ganondorf nodded. "It is. The Gorons have a ruby, and there's an emerald hidden deep within the Lost Woods. I believe these three jewels possess extraordinary magical power, and I wanted to ascertain the nature of this power for myself."

"Why?"

"I myself didn't know why, not at first. I was researching Hylian relics that would have survived multiple instances of the calamity, and these jewels are three of the oldest existent artifacts in Hyrule."

"But..." Zelda frowned. "The Kokiri Emerald is nothing more than a myth. Generations of treasure hunters have gone into the Lost Woods seeking it, but it's never been found. So many of the people searching for it have disappeared that we no longer send our soldiers to rescue them."

When Ganondorf didn't respond, Zelda was struck with a flash of intuition. "Don't tell me... Don't tell me you've tried to go there yourself."

Ganondorf's face warmed with a slight smile. "Are you worried for my safety?"

Zelda remembered the haunted and skeletal face of a young woman who had recently been found wandering along the border of the southern forest. She could remember nothing, not even her own name, so the soldiers entrusted with her care had brought her to the castle. Zelda interviewed this woman herself, but all she could do was mutter feverishly about how the moon would fall in three days.

"Yes," Zelda answered Ganondorf's question honestly. "I am worried."

"I appreciate your concern," he said as he sat down beside her, "but you need not be. You wanted to know where I was before I met you outside the library?"

"You went to the forest," Zelda said in a flat voice, annoyed at herself for not having put the pieces together earlier.

"I did," Ganondorf replied.

"And did you speak with the Kokiri?"

"I did not."

"It's said that they use magic to make their city impossible to enter. Were you able to find it?"

Ganondorf gave her an odd look. "The Kokiri have no city."

"Excuse me?"

"Do you not know?"

"Know what?"

Ganondorf let out a slow breath and leaned back into the cushions beside her. Zelda wanted to fire a volley of questions at him, but she held herself back.

"Do you want more tea?" Ganondorf asked.

"I want to know what you're talking about," Zelda snapped. She looked down at her half-empty teacup and felt a twinge of remorse. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "It's just, it's difficult for me to process everything you're saying. I want to get to the bottom of this."

"It's I who should apologize to you." Ganondorf sat up and reached for her hand. She set her cup down and gave it to him, and he intertwined his fingers with hers. "I haven't talked with anyone about any of this," he admitted, "and I don't know the best way to go about it."

"I should have spoken to you before now."

"I wanted to speak with you as well, but the visions set me on edge."

Zelda didn't know how to respond, and they were both silent for a moment. The warmth of Ganondorf's palm was comforting, and she began stroking his thumb with her own.

"Why don't you tell me about the Kokiri?" she prompted. "What do you mean that they don't have a city?"

Ganondorf squeezed her hand. "Properly speaking," he began, "there is no such thing as the Kokiri tribe. Small creatures called Koroks inhabit the Kokiri Forest. They resemble leafless Deku Scrubs, but they occasionally appear as Gerudo – and, I would assume, as Hylians – when talking with people from outside the forest. They live freely wherever they wish under the protection of the Deku Tree, which speaks as the voice of the forest when necessary. These creatures are collectively referred to as a tribe for the sake of political exigency, but they have no culture or society as we would think of them as such."

"But..." Zelda's head was spinning. "They send representatives at the behest of their elder. I assume the title of 'the Great Deku Tree' is an inherited position?"

"The Deku Tree is literally a true. An ancient and enormous tree, but a tree nonetheless."

"Why did we not know?"

Ganondorf smiled and squeezed her hand again. "With all due respect, Zelda, I think many people who live outside the walls of your city do know. You need to leave the castle more often."

Zelda could feel herself flush pink with embarrassment. "So," she said, changing the subject, "did you find this tree?"

"I did."

"How did you not get lost in the woods?"

"Like the Sheikah, the Gerudo have methods of seeing through illusions. It took me several attempts, but I eventually made it deep enough into the forest to find the Deku Tree."

"And did you ask it about the Kokiri Emerald?"

"I did, but it was not a pleasant conversation. It told me, in no uncertain terms, that it had sent the jewel away from the forest in order to prevent it from falling into my hands. It said that it had foreseen my coming, and that it would do everything within its considerable ability to stop me."

"Did you explain why you're seeking these jewels?"

Ganondorf shook his head as he released her hand. "I'm afraid that I don't know myself."

Zelda smiled and took the opportunity to pluck the stray leaf that had become lodged in a tangle of his hair. "Maybe you just haven't tried to explain yourself to anyone yet," she offered. "Why don't you give it a shot?"

Ganondorf took Zelda's teacup from where she had set it down and drained it before answering her. "I don't know why or how, but those three jewels may be the keys that open the door to the Sacred Realm. I have to enter the Sacred Realm. I have to find the source of the calamity, and I have to find the power to stop it."

"Did you tell this to the Deku Tree? That you're trying to save Hyrule?"

"It told me that mortals have no business in the Sacred Realm. As if that makes a difference. The tree is ancient and wise, but it is a tree, and it knows nothing of the urgency of human lives."

"I might agree with the Deku Tree," Zelda said, trailing her fingers along Ganondorf's jaw. "Not even my family knows exactly what the Sacred Realm is, or even whether it exists at all. Explain to me why it's so urgent that you find these jewels. Why can't you wait until you have the cooperation of their keepers?"

Ganondorf raised his hand to cover hers. "I want to live, Zelda," he said. "I don't want to die, and I don't want anyone to die with me – or for me, or whatever I may become. I must have the power to end the calamity before it can happen."

His eyes were shining with a fierce determination that Zelda found both disturbing and strangely entrancing. There was something in the lines of his face that was oddly familiar to her, a shadow out of time. She blinked, and suddenly she recognized the violent intensity of the wizard whom she had seen destroy the tower.

"Are you sure you're not becoming the calamity yourself? Even now?" As the words left her mouth, Zelda was almost shocked at the low tone of her voice, which offered a clear invitation.

"And what if I were?" He raised himself so that he was leaning over her, his face inches away from hers. "What if me becoming the calamity is the only way to stop it?"

"There must be another way," Zelda murmured as she pressed the tip of her index finger onto his lower lip. "Maybe we should get to work on finding those jewels."

Ganondorf grinned, and in a split second his lips were on hers. Zelda leaned backward, and Ganondorf covered her, pressing his body against hers. She could feel the stiffness forming at his waist along the side of her leg, and she shifted herself slightly to grind into it. He gasped in pleasure, and then his tongue was in her mouth, hot and demanding. She welcomed him, and then he was above her, all hardness and muscle and desire to please.

 _How dare he_ , a voice hissed in her mind, and Zelda went cold. Suddenly it was as if she were watching herself from above, and she felt the same sense of unbalance that she had experienced at the start of her visions.

"Stop," she said, and he did. Ganondorf went suddenly still, like the eye of a storm, and slowly separated himself from her.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm doing, I... I barely know anything about you," she muttered. She wanted to keep touching him, to draw him back to her, but she forced herself to sit up and stand.

"I should go back," she stammered. "It's late, and – "

"There's no need to apologize," Ganondorf interrupted in a strained voice. His face was turned away from her, and his eyes were closed. "But, if you want to know about me," he continued, "then you need to find the truth about my mother. And yours as well."

Zelda nodded. She realized that he wasn't watching her, but she didn't know what to say. Her thoughts raced through her head in different directions. She didn't know how she would make it back to her own quarters without being observed, but she would find a way.

 _The Goddess grant me wisdom_ , she recited in her mind before heading toward the door.

"Talk to Link," Ganondorf said from behind her, his words so quiet that she could barely hear him. "He knows more about this than he would ever admit to either of us."


	18. The Boy from the Forest

Zelda didn't sleep well that night. She tossed and turned for a few hours and then, when the sky turned pink with dawn, she rose, dressed herself, and headed straight for the stables.

It was still too early for the grooms of the visiting nobles to be up and about, but as soon as Zelda left the castle through one of the servants' entrances she saw Link crossing the yard. He walked at a brisk pace with a bale of hay suspended under each arm. He seemed to carry them with no effort at all, and in the silence of the morning Zelda could hear him whistling. She followed him into one of the wooden stable buildings, all the while keeping to the edges of the parade field. There was no reason why she shouldn't be here, but she didn't want to be observed.

When she entered the stable Link was already distributing hay into the troughs in front of each pen. He handled his pitchfork skillfully, wielding it as if it were a natural extension of his body. He noticed Zelda only a moment or two after she came in, and he waved to her without breaking his rhythm. She felt guilty about interrupting him, and as she made her way over she offered to help. He smiled and gestured toward another pitchfork hanging on a rack on the wall by the door. She took it and began transporting forkfuls of hay herself, grateful that Link had taken her up on her offer of assistance instead of making her feel like her presence was an inconvenience. Although she wasn't as adroit as Link, she enjoyed the exercise.

Once they were done, Link took her pitchfork and hung it back up along with his own while he related a humorous story about how the child of one of the visiting Rito aristocrats who had insisted on being given riding lessons. She always appreciated his cheerfulness, and she was even more grateful for his bright disposition after her conversation with Ganondorf.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" he asked, making a seamless transition from his anecdote.

"Link, you've traveled a fair bit around Hyrule, haven't you?" she inquired.

"A fair bit, yes. I'd say so." He smiled, and it lit up his face like a sunbeam. "Are you getting wanderlust? Has the time finally come for you to run away with me?"

Zelda ignored him and continued. "Please don't tease me for saying this, but I only just learned that the Koriki don't actually look like Hylians. Am I the only person in Hyrule who didn't know this?"

To his credit, Link didn't laugh at her, but he couldn't quite manage to keep a straight face. Once he had recovered from his amusement, he answered. "Most people who live outside Castle Town probably know about Koroks. They're beastly little creatures. They like to play tricks on travelers, and they leave their droppings everywhere. Sometimes I think they make a game of it, honestly."

"But why wouldn't anyone have written about this? My interactions with them have been limited, but I've never had any reason to assume that the Kokiri weren't what they appeared to be. Isn't that precisely the sort of thing someone would want to record in a book?"

As she spoke, Link walked over to her, and when she was done he pinched both of her cheeks, wagging her face back and forth.

"Sweet Hylia, let me look at you, because I've never seen anyone so innocent and precious in my life."

Zelda batted him away. "Link, I'm serious," she insisted. "Why haven't I read about this? Is it really common knowledge?"

"Koroks are as common as cow paddies in a field, but no one thinks those are worth writing about either. They stay away from populated settlements and keep to wild areas, where they cause no end of trouble. But they're harmless and virtually indestructible, so no one pays them any mind. This is just a guess, but I think only a few of the older Koroks can shapeshift into Hylians, while the others probably become trees. Or bushes. Or swampgrass. Or something."

"Do you know anything about the Great Deku Tree? Is it – or he – one of them?"

The color suddenly drained from Link's face, and his smile vanished. "This is about Ganondorf, isn't it?" he asked softly.

"I... " Zelda was caught off guard and found herself at a loss for words. She considered prevaricating, but it was Ganondorf himself who had suggested that she speak to Link, after all. "Yes," she finally answered.

"So you got him to tell you where he's been going at night," Link muttered, shaking his head. "Good for you. Did you sleep with him?"

"Excuse me? Link, that's..." Zelda could feel the blood rush to her face, and she knew that any denial she offered would come off as insincere. "...that's, that's _rude_ ," she stammered.

Link made a face and snapped his fingers. "And I had my eye on him, too. Great Din, can you believe I thought I had a chance?"

"Link, we didn't sleep together," Zelda said, not knowing what Link was getting at.

"Not _yet_ , you didn't." Link let out a comically exasperated sigh. "Did you know that he won't shut up about you? Even Nabooru noticed, and that's despite the fact that she still sees him as a kid."

"You know Nabooru? How?"

"I do in fact know Nabooru." Link's shoulders slumped. "Where do I even begin?"

"How about you begin with Nabooru and end with the Great Deku Tree?" Zelda suggested.

"I suppose that now is as good a time as any," Link relented. "I've just wrapped up this round of chores, and I have an hour to spare. Will you do me the honor of accompanying me to my office?"

"Your office?" Zelda raised an eyebrow.

"Don't get cheeky, princess," Link shot back at her. He gestured for her to follow him as he left the stable building.

"Speaking of cheeky, were you really interested in Ganondorf?"

"A boy can dream, can't he?"

"I always thought you had a thing for Barghest."

"And I thought we agreed we wouldn't talk about that."

"Link, almost every single person who's met you is in love with you. How are you still single?"

"How about you don't rub it in?"

Link opened the door to a small shed built alongside one of the larger barns, and Zelda followed him inside. The room was comfortable yet cluttered, and there were books scattered everywhere. Zelda remembered the piles of books in Ganondorf's sitting room and couldn't stop herself from blushing. It had only been a few hours ago, but she still had trouble believing that they had actually...

"Milk?" Link interrupted her thoughts with an offer of a cold glass bottle covered in condensation, and Zelda accepted it.

They clinked the rims of their bottles together and drank. The milk was fresh and creamy, and it was even more satisfying after she had worked up a thirst in the dusty stable. They drained their bottles, and Link returned them to a small cistern, trading them for a cool, wet rag. He passed it to her, and she used it to clean her hands before giving it back to him. As Link used the opposite side to wipe his face, Zelda took a moment to appreciate how handsome he was. She wondered why someone like him, who was clearly well-read and spoke with no trace of a rural accent, would want to work at a stable, even if it was the royal stables of a castle.

When finished cleaning his face, Link picked up his guitar, which was leaning against the leg of a table covered in bridles and harnesses. He sat down on a wooden stool and began absent-mindedly tuning the instrument. Zelda took this as her cue to sit down on a bare wooden bench running along the length of the wall separating the shed from the main barn.

"I hope you'll forgive me for being perverse," Link eventually said, "but the best way to tell this story is in the exact opposite order of what you suggested. But it's not a long story. It goes like this: I was an orphan who grew up in the forest. When I was too old to stay there, I went to the desert. After that I came here. That's it, that's the story. Shall I tell you another?"

He continued fiddling with his guitar and didn't meet Zelda's eyes as he spoke.

"Link, I had no idea," she murmured. "I understand that this must be difficult for you to talk about, but I need to know what's going on. Ganondorf told me that some sort of calamity is about to strike Hyrule, and I'm inclined to believe him. He asked me to speak to you, and he told me that you know something. If I had to guess, I think that he didn't want to ask you himself. Can you help me?"

She leaned forward and touched his knee, and his hands stilled. He laid the guitar flat across his lap, but he still wouldn't look at her.

"I was raised by the Kokiri," he said in a quiet voice. "They appeared to me in the form of children like myself, and I didn't know that they were Koroks. I assume the Great Deku Tree ordered them to take care of me, and if this bothered them they never gave me any indication. I thought everything was normal until I noticed that they never aged. I'm not sure how old I am, but I must have been at least ten before I finally started to question why I was the only one getting older, and why none of us ever left the forest. The Great Deku Tree told me that I had been brought into the woods by a woman from the southern coast who became lost on her way to Hyrule. He told me that I was fated to leave the forest, and that I had a great destiny. And then he sent me on my way."

"And you were ten years old?" Zelda asked incredulously.

"I didn't see anything strange about it at the time. How could I?"

"So what was this 'great destiny' the tree told you about? Did it have something to do with Ganon?"

"It did, actually. The Deku Tree told me that I would defeat Ganon. I had no idea what that meant, but I took it very seriously. Every kid wants to fight monsters and save the world, right? I sure did, and that's why I went to the desert."

"You went to the desert immediately? And – just to be clear – you were ten?"

Finally she got a slight smile out of him. "I'm a lot more competent than I look, you know," he said with a wry expression.

"Surely you didn't just walk all the way across Hyrule."

"I did, if you would believe it. Thankfully, I got picked up by a group of Gerudo returning from Hyrule as I was making my way through the mountain pass into the desert. That's how I met Nabooru, who happened to be headed in the same direction."

"Nabooru, really. She doesn't seem as if she would be great with kids."

"She..." Link laughed, shook his head, and continued. "She most assuredly wasn't, but she was impressed when I escaped from her custody later that night. She had her personal guards track me down, and when they caught me she let me convince her to take me back to the city fortress."

"Somehow I doubt you convinced her of anything."

"I share your skepticism, but I think she was already planning to introduce me to Ganondorf."

"So you knew Ganondorf?"

"Not really. Even back then he kept to himself."

"What was he like?"

"What was he like?" Link rolled his eyes. "Just listen to yourself. What was he like? Is this the first time you've ever had a crush on someone?"

"Of course not. You're my first love, after all."

Link's smile grew brighter. "That's more like it. Anyway, Nabooru probably thought it would be funny for us to meet. She'd push me in front of Ganondorf, say 'This is the monster you're looking for,' watch both of us get confused, and have herself a good laugh. And that's more or less what happened. Ganondorf didn't seem to be the least bit interested in me, but I had nowhere else to go except the palace, so I stuck around. If Ganondorf wasn't Ganon, then maybe something else was, you know?"

Link picked up his guitar again and started strumming. "After a few months I forgot all about my great destiny. Not much was happening on that front, and in the meantime I started being used as a messenger boy. One of the palace officials apparently thought I'd make a good courier and took it upon herself to teach me how to ride. I didn't mind delivering mail, but I liked horses better, so I eventually moved into the palace stables."

"Because the sables were built into the mountain and had shade during the day, the flat ground outside was often used by teachers training girls in fencing and archery. I still took the whole 'destiny' thing seriously, and so I would watch them from the shadows and try to mimic their exercises. I most certainly wasn't fooling anyone, but it still took almost a year for one of the trainees to invite me to practice with them. I did fairly well against kids my own age. After another few months passed, I started to harbor the delusion that I might even have some talent."

"I always thought I would see Ganondorf, but he never attended practice. He was a prince, so I assumed that no one required him to fight if he didn't want to. When I was bold enough to make a joke about it, the girls laughed at me and told me that he trained with the adults. I don't know why I felt so competitive, but for some reason that irritated me. The women practiced directly under the sun during the afternoon. I was usually sleeping then, which is why I never saw him. I started lurking around the training grounds to watch them. Even though Ganondorf was good, he was no match for the adults. He saw me watching – they all did – but he ignored me. This irritated me even more, so I waited until I finally saw him by himself to challenge him to a one-on-one battle."

Link stopped talking, and Zelda watched as an expression of discomfort floated across his face. "What happened?" she prompted.

"I think I may have actually had some measure of skill. Then again, anyone who trained with the Gerudo would have become skilled; they all took it very seriously. So maybe I had talent, and I had confidence, but I was still too green to understand what it meant that Ganondorf lost sparring matches against trained adults. I had no idea what true skill was until I fought him. I assumed he was a pampered aristocrat. He was on the small side for a Gerudo and kind of a nerd, but the way he fought was beauty itself. When he sparred against the women, it was like an experiment for him. He wasn't happy until he'd pushed himself to his limits or seen something he'd never be shown unless he created an opening. After exchanging a few blows with me, he seemed to understand that I had nothing to teach him, and he defeated me soundly. What really pissed me off was that he was kind about it. He enjoyed himself, but he didn't taunt me or try to rub it in."

"The Gerudo have a saying that the true measure of quality is when someone with a little talent is confronted with real genius. That's exactly how I felt with Ganondorf. It humiliated me that I lost to him, especially since I had underestimated him so badly. He was my age, but it was almost as if he wasn't even on the same plane of reality. I realized that I would never be as good as him no matter how hard I worked."

Once again Link fell silent. Zelda knew that it would do no good to try to comfort or reassure him, so instead she focused her attention on the melody he played. He was repeating variations on the same refrain, which became stuck in Zelda's mind as she listened.

"That's when I lost all desire to be a hero," Link muttered. "It just didn't seem like it was worth it anymore. It wasn't so much that losing against Ganondorf made me bitter, but rather that he expressed something in the way he fought, some sort of grace, that made me not want to fight him. The worst thing is that, after our match, he started to come to the stables more often. I was young and stupid, but not young and stupid enough not to know that he was trying to be my friend. He was so serious all the time, nothing like the girls my own age, and I couldn't bear his kindness. I wanted to hate him for making me feel like I'd never become a hero, but I couldn't."

"But maybe I'm making this deeper than it is." Link laughed and shook his head. "I was starting to become a teenager, and I think I was just being a little shit. I was insufferable even to myself, so I picked up and left the Gerudo. I traveled a bit more while doing odd jobs here and there. I would occasionally run into someone I once knew, but I never went back to the desert."

"Mmmm." Zelda smiled. "It sounds like you were the one with the crush."

"You're one to talk. Can you blame me?"

"Even if you don't want to be a hero, do you still think you have, what was it? A great destiny?"

Link returned her smile. "I'm not interested in that. All I want to do is eat good food and ride around when the weather is nice. But..."

"But what?"

"Maybe _you_ do. Have a great destiny, that is."

"Perhaps I do." Zelda sighed as she stood and clapped the dust from her clothing. "If only I knew how to go about pursuing it. I'm not sure how to make sense of all of this. How odd it is that the three of us were drawn together. Coincidences like this don't happen very often."

Link put down his guitar and stood alongside her. "Before you get in over your head, I think you should understand exactly what you're getting yourself into."

He walked to a shelf crammed with various books and tools, inserted his hand into the mess, and withdrew a small silver key. "You need to learn how the Gerudo queen died. The only person who really understood what happened was your mother. I've heard a rumor that she has some diaries locked away somewhere. I thought I would investigate this for myself, but like I said, I have no interest in being a hero."

"Where did you get this?" Zelda frowned as Link gave her the key.

"Better not to ask," he replied with a wink.

"That sounds reasonable," Zelda agreed amiably, making a mental note to speak with Impa about this later.

"And about Ganondorf," Link added, "the attraction you feel for him might not what you think it is. I can't put my finger on what's bothering me, but I'd keep my distance from him if I were you."

"Are you really sure that you don't still have a thing for him?"

Link's face grew suddenly serious. "There's something wrong with the dragon that guards the Fire Temple of the Gorons," he said. "And there's something horribly wrong with Jabun as well. The Zora are keeping it a secret, but their queen is deathly ill, and there's a reason why Darunia's son didn't accompany him to Hyrule. I think he may have been attacked, and I think he might be dying. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that something has happened to the Great Deku Tree as well. Ganondorf isn't a bad person, but underneath his kindness..."

Link trailed off, shook his head, and continued. "I'm not sure how to explain it. Just promise me you won't let your guard down around him. Be careful, Zelda."


	19. The Two Princesses

"You need to find the truth about my mother," Ganondorf told her, and Link seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Zelda was more than a little annoyed with both of them for not simply telling her what she needed to know. Either the truth was too terrible to be spoken aloud, or neither of them really knew anything. Zelda regularly dealt with intrigue over the course of her daily administrative duties and didn't have much patience for conspiracy theories, and she suspected the latter. Nevertheless, she knew exactly what the silver key Link had given her would unlock, and she had every intention of using it. Even with her considerable skill, however, it wouldn't be easy to sneak into her father's private study. Thankfully, she now had an ally at court.

Ruto had arrived late in the evening, her standard-bearers preceding her by mere hours. One of the many qualities Zelda admired about Ruto was her decisiveness; she seemed to feel a complete absence of guilt for doing whatever she wanted whenever she felt it was necessary to do it. If Ruto no longer felt the need to trouble herself over Jabun, then there was nothing stopping her from traveling to Hyrule, and she so did without wasting any additional time.

Zelda was struck giddy with the anticipation of seeing her dear friend in person again. She remained at court much later than usual as she awaited Ruto's arrival, and she enjoyed herself to such an extent that Impa felt the need to appear at her side at occasional intervals to limit her alcohol consumption.

When Ruto finally made her appearance, she was beautiful and magnificent, her scales shining like the moon over the sea and her lithe form accentuated by a shimmering violet gown. She was not disheveled in the slightest from her journey across Hyrule, nor did she show any fatigue. She offered warm smiles and kind words to all the nobles and courtiers who approached her after her arrival was formally announced. When she was finally able to make her way to the king, she allowed Daphnes to sweep her up into a bear hug. All through the night she caught Zelda's gaze and winked meaningfully, as if to say _Look at me, I'm so good at this, I'm so good at being a princess_ , which had been a private joke between them when they were much younger.

Ruto's company was in such high demand that Zelda realized she would have to use the privilege of her position to push her way to the front of the crowd. When she made her greeting to the visiting princess she couched it in such flowery language that Ruto could only listen to her for a minute before bursting into laughter. As the two princesses clasped arms and grinned at one another, a tuning note from the lead violin of the orchestra cut through the chatter of the gathering, and before Zelda knew what was happening Ruto had pulled her into the center of the floor. Zelda giggled as she allowed herself to be led in a dance, her skirts swirling alongside Ruto's.

After the final notes of the orchestral prelude faded, other couples joined them on the floor, which Zelda interpreted as an opportunity to take Ruto by the crook of her arm and shepherd her to a secluded area. As they were walking with their arms linked toward one of the shaded corners behind the hall's pillars, they were accosted by Darunia, who clasped his huge hands on their shoulders from behind.

"You two are a sight for sore eyes," he proclaimed in his booming voice. "The court is getting more gorgeous by the day! My girl, your coronation is going to sparkle like nothing I've ever seen, and believe me, I _know_ shiny," he continued, slapping Zelda on the back. Zelda stumbled from the force of the blow, and Ruto caught her, grinning merrily all the while.

"Excuse me," a small voice spoke up from just beside them. Zelda looked down and saw the most handsome child she'd ever encountered. He had silky autumn-gold hair and piercing green eyes to match, and he was clad in a long feathery tunic resembling interlocking leaves of various shades of umber and olive.

"I don't believe we've ever met, Your Highness, but I am Makar," the boy introduced himself.

Zelda blinked and experienced a moment of double sight. There was a boy standing beside her and offering his hand to be taken in greeting, but also something entirely different – a slim and willowy creature with mottled bark wearing a leaf as a mask cut with a pattern of triangles in an off-center approximation of a face. _So this is a Korok_ , Zelda realized.

"The pleasure is all mine," Zelda said, extending her fingers, and then the Korok's twiggy branch was once again a plump and rosy-skinned Hylian hand. "You must forgive me for not seeking your acquaintance earlier, sir."

The boy gave a good-natured laugh and shook Zelda's hand in both of his. "I'm actually sexed as female," he said. "We all are, but I prefer to take a male form. And you can call me Makar; it's just as much of a name as it is a title." He nodded at her and then turned to Ruto. "It's an honor to meet you as well, Your Highness. I arrived this evening right behind you, just a moment ago."

"Why didn't you announce yourself properly?" Ruto asked, never one to hold back on bluntly inquiring after what she wanted to know.

Makar cocked his chin at Darunia, who was beaming down at him with a full set of teeth. "I didn't want this big lug to know I was here yet," he replied, answering Darunia's wide smile with one of his own. Zelda was amused to note that there was a slight gap between his front teeth. It was charming, and Zelda appreciated how much effort must have put into the illusion he was maintaining for her benefit.

"I hope you brought your fiddle, little buddy, because I'm in the mood to dance tonight. Let's take you over to Daphnes and show that old lion how to get this party started!"

"I think this is a good opportunity for us to leave," Ruto whispered to Zelda. Without giving her time to excuse herself politely, Ruto grabbed Zelda's hand and practically dragged her through the great hall.

By the time they were in the corridor outside they were practically running.

"I'll race you, ninja girl," Ruto challenged her, and then they _were_ running, their feet moving so quickly that their heels barely made a sound.

Ruto led Zelda on a mad chase through the castle to the quarters assigned to the Zora dignitaries. There were two tall and muscular Zora guards stationed outside the suite with silver spears at the ready, and Ruto flirtatiously kissed both of them on their cheeks as Zelda paused to catch her breath. The guards shook their heads at Ruto's brazenness and gave slight bows to Zelda as they opened the doors for the two women.

As soon as they were inside, Ruto kicked off her shoes and pulled her dress over her head without bothering to unlace it. The Zora didn't usually bother with Hylian fashion, which they found cumbersome, and Ruto sighed with contentment as she unlatched the jewelry at her neck and wrists.

Zelda knew Ruto was headed straight for the large pool of water in the suite, so she began undressing as well. A Zora attendant appeared to help her out of her formal gown, while another collected Ruto's cast-off finery from the floor where she'd left it laying.

"Don't touch her hair," Ruto ordered her attendants. "That's my job." She winked at Zelda. "Now let's get wet. I feel so dehydrated… I could soak for days."

Zelda allowed one of the Zora attendants to wrap her in a towel to preserve her modesty before she followed Ruto into the bathing chamber, and she only discarded it after she stepped into the warm water. She knew that the Zora generally cared nothing for Hylian nakedness, but she was still a bit embarrassed to be seen completely in the nude.

The pool, whose bottom extended into the castle's basement, was fairly deep, and Zelda had to swim to join Ruto on one of the tiled lounging shelves extending from its sides.

"You swim like a frog," Ruto teased.

"Yeah, well, you run like a fish," Zelda shot back.

"You know what goes well with a good bath?" Ruto asked her. "Sparkling wine. And wouldn't you know it, I see some heading this way right now."

Zelda blushed fiercely and suppressed an urge to cover herself as a Zora groom approached them with a serving tray bearing two finely shaped glass vessels filled with fizzing pale liquid.

Ruto rose gracefully to the surface of the water and took both of them. "These glasses are Gerudo-made, you know," she remarked as she passed one to Zelda. "Aren't they beautiful?" she asked rhetorically before taking a sip.

At mention of the word "Gerudo," Zelda blushed an even deeper shade of pink, and it gave her a secret thrill of pleasure to touch her lips to the rim of the glass. She knew she shouldn't have more than just a taste, especially not this late at night, and especially not while soaking in such warm water, but the wine was heavenly, delicately flavored but not too sweet.

Meanwhile, Ruto had already finished her glass. She scooted over to sit next to Zelda.

"Let me play with your hair," she commanded.

"Only if you tell me about Jabun," Zelda countered, emboldened by the alcohol.

"Oh, I will. Girl, you are never going to hear the end of it if you get me started," she said as she began unhooking the pins holding Zelda's hair in a braided bun. "But if you know about Jabun, then you probably know a few other things too. I wonder… Just how much _do_ you know? Before I tell you about Jabun, why don't you tell me about Ganondorf?"

Zelda tensed at the mention of his name, and Ruto laughed. "Come on, friend, dish it. I know he's had his eyes on you."

Zelda drained her glass, and perhaps the alcohol had gone to her head, for her next words surprised her. "I don't know what to make of him," she said. "He's like spiced wine, something that's so delicious but so potent that it makes me leave this world just for an instant. He's like an oasis in all the mundane nonsense of my life, a fountain with the moon inside, and I want to reach inside and touch it…"

Ruto raised her facial fins dramatically.

"Oh blessed Nayru, I don't know what I'm saying," Zelda apologized, laughing.

"I know exactly what you're saying. You've got it bad, don't you?" Ruto shook her head, still grinning as she continued to unpin Zelda's hair. "Not that I can say I blame you. He's a handsome one, all right, and he certainly has his charms. Unfortunately…" Ruto trailed off, and one of the corners of her mouth twitched before she continued. "I don't think 'charms' are all he has. You know that boy is dangerous, right?"

"Trust me, I know. Better than anyone, probably," Zelda leaned back into Ruto's cool embrace. She could feel herself growing drowsy, but she still had things she needed to say while she had an opportunity to speak to Ruto in relative privacy. "That's why I want to talk with you about Jabun, and also… There's something I need you to do for me tomorrow night."


	20. The Two Queens

The next evening's court began with a magnificent feast. Zelda's coronation ceremony was only three days away, an important milestone that demanded an elaborate celebration. Publicly Zelda was grateful that Hyrule was a prosperous kingdom that could easily afford such extravagance, while privately she was relieved that she didn't have to manage the budget herself.

The meal preceding this particular court was more ceremonial than most. Speeches were given as traditional dishes from all the tribes of Hyrule were served, each conveying wishes for good fortune. It was an event of no minor significance, and even Ganondorf was present. Zelda was not the least bit surprised by his eloquence when he was called on to give a toast, but she was impressed by just how charming and sociable he could be when he put in the effort. He was dressed in finely tailored clothing that suited him well, and he had trimmed and tamed his hair, perhaps in an effort to make himself appear more presentable. To Zelda's amusement, he also seemed to have grown the beginnings of a beard. Zelda remained close to Ruto's side all evening, but she couldn't help sneaking glances at Ganondorf from across the room. He met her gaze with a sly smile whenever he caught her looking, but he never left his seat to position himself closer to her.

He could pretend to be coy if he wanted to, for Zelda knew that he was looking at her as well. She had allowed Ruto to dress her for the occasion, and she felt as beautiful as a mermaid in her Zora-woven gown, whose fabric lay as lightly as gossamer against her skin. The Zora dignitaries accompanying Ruto had presented her with jewelry and hair ornaments made of luminescent scales during an audience of state earlier that day, and Zelda wore them proudly, delighting in how they made her face shine. She usually disliked this sort of ostentatious adornment, but her awareness of how she caught and held Ganondorf's eyes when he thought she wasn't paying attention made her feel sparkling and brilliant.

Ruto's cheerful presence beside her enhanced her mood, so much so that she found she was actually enjoying herself during the lengthy banquet. Ruto had a habit of treating everyone she met like a close friend, and Zelda appreciated the way she skillfully steered and directed the conversation with their tablemates. People began circulating once the first half dozen courses had been served, and Zelda soon found herself and Ruto in the middle of a swirling whirlpool of activity. With Ruto's help she was able to integrate herself into the crowd, saying exactly what needed to be said and blithely ignoring what didn't. She even allowed herself to flirt with a few of the men who had presented themselves to her as potential suitors, knowing full well that Ganondorf was watching her.

She knew Impa was watching as well, and she regretted that her friend couldn't join her as Ruto did. Once she was fully instated as queen she would have something to say about how the Sheikah were treated and expected to behave, and the success of the evening's ceremonial dinner gave her a sliver of confidence that she might actually make a decent queen one day.

Nevertheless, that was all in the future, and her goal at this particular moment in time lay elsewhere. Once the meal was over and the assembly shifted itself to the Great Hall, Impa was to discretely steer Darunia over to her father so that Ruto could present them with a bottle of the wine she and Zelda had sampled the previous evening. Ruto did so, and then she prompted Darunia and Daphnes to tell her stories of her own father, winking at Zelda once the reminiscences had begun in earnest. Impa came for Zelda and escorted her out of the crowded room. People pretended not to see her exit, for no one would dare approach the princess when she was with her Sheikah guardian.

Once they'd left the Great Hall and were a safe distance down the hallway outside, Impa clasped Zelda's hands in hers and pressed their foreheads together.

"Farore give you courage, Princess," Impa whispered with a grin. "But I can assure you that you won't be disturbed, at least not immediately. Sneak through the king's rooms to your heart's content."

"It's not sneaking," Zelda replied sanctimoniously. "It's research."

"Of course. But don't 'research' too long, because I'll have no way to signal you if you're in danger of being disturbed."

Zelda nodded and squeezed Impa's hands, genuinely grateful for the reminder. There would be questions if she were caught, and she didn't want the king involved in any of this, not yet. She had a feeling that there was something he was hiding from her, and she wanted to have the upper hand when she confronted him about all of this – her mother's death, the lack of diplomacy between Hyrule and the Gerudo, and Ganondorf's chilly reception in her castle.

She slipped into one of the narrow servants' corridors and then from there to an old stone staircase so remote and neglected that it was practically a secret passage. She had left her satchel containing the silver key and ocarina there earlier, and as she retrieved it she exchanged her heels for the soft padded sandals the Sheikah used to move silently. She also removed her jewelry, as lovely as it was, for she no longer had any use for it. She wished she could have changed out of her gown as well, but she had no time to waste.

Zelda moved quickly and quietly along her planned route, and in mere minutes she was standing within her father's study. Only a single gaslamp had been left aglow, but thankfully she had brought a small portable lantern with her. She removed it from her satchel, ignited its wick, and made her way to the chest where her mother's effects were kept. Even in the dim light Zelda could see that its lid was dusty and marked only with streaks that her father must have made when he withdrew the ocarina so that he could pass it on to her.

As Zelda carefully fitted the silver key to the lock, she was overcome by a surge of emotion. She adored her father, truly she did. He was a capable king – much more than capable, actually, he was brilliant – and yet he always made time for her. He was generous with his affection, yet he had never been condescending and always treated her as a partner of equal rank. It was because of his guidance and support that she was able to manage her duties, and no one in the entire kingdom was more thrilled than her father that she would become Hyrule's next queen. Unlike the princess in her vision, she had never been a bird in a cage; if anything, Daphnes had trained her to spread her wings like the eagle on the royal family's crest. If he had never spoken to her of her mother after her death, then he must have had his reasons. Zelda loved her father, but there was so much she didn't know about him. She had always thought that, perhaps one day, when they were both older, he would invite her into his confidence. In the meantime, she had no choice but to seek answers for herself, yet she couldn't deny the guilt she felt as she gingerly lifted the lid of the chest with the tips of her nails.

The faint scent that drifted up from the opened chest was unmistakably that of her mother, and Zelda was struck by a wave of nostalgia so strong that she had to bite her lip to force herself not to tear up. She took a deep breath and got to work examining the contents.

On top of a pile of folded garments was a small pocket telescope that her father had once given the queen as a present; Zelda remembered her mother telling her that he had proposed to her while they were stargazing. There were scarves beautifully dyed in her mother's favorite lily-of-the-valley pattern, and monogrammed handkerchiefs that her mother must have embroidered herself, and a tarnished silver hairbrush with a few strands of honey golden hair still caught in its spines, and a spool of what looked like wire for the hand harp that her mother had favored, and some undershirts that must have been too intimate to be given away or repurposed, and then even more garments, all the way down to the bottom of the chest.

 _What was this supposed to teach me?_ Zelda thought in irritation. She sighed and applied the palm of her hand to the smooth surface of the pile of clothing, at the top of which was a bright scarlet shawl with a delicate silver fringe that Zelda was sure she had never seen her mother wear in the castle. She enjoyed the tactile sensation of the texture of its fine weave, but as she pressed her hand down against it she felt something strange. Giving up any pretense of keeping everything neatly folded, she rummaged through the clothing until she found a leather folio. Its edges were completely sealed shut, with no clasps or hinges.

 _This is it_ , Zelda realized, and she instinctively knew what to do. She held the folio in both hands and hummed the melody that opened the underground passage leading outside the castle, and as the song progressed the perfectly joined leather seams split open.

Inside were letters, more letters than Zelda thought could possibly have fit into such a slim folio, and they were all written in Gerudo. She quickly realized that they must have been written by the former Gerudo queen.

 _It was so good to see you again, my darling_ , read a paragraph at the beginning of the first letter. _How far you travel from your castle, and just to see me! One day you must remind me to ask you what excuses you use on your parents. My mother has a task waiting for me every time I so much as sit down to catch my breath, and I have to write to you by candlelight. The desert night is cold, but it makes me warm to sit in the soft glow of the flame and remember your visit._

Zelda smiled to herself as she skimmed the rest of the pages. She knew her mother had been good friends with the Gerudo queen, but this was almost like a love letter. There was nothing of consequence in the rest of the message, so she moved on to the next letter.

 _The tea you sent me is so bitter_ , the Gerudo queen – or would she still have been a princess then? – wrote after the opening pleasantries. _No wonder you Hylians use so much sugar. But if it's a blend made from herbs you planted in your own garden, then it needs no sugar. It is your own taste, pure and simple. As I drink it I think of you, and the way you tasted on that afternoon…_

Zelda felt her cheeks flush crimson as she blushed violently. Yes, these were definitely love letters. But had her mother felt the same way? Zelda flipped through the pages, embarrassed by their contents. Apparently her mother had indeed returned the queen's affections, for she continued to send presents and visit the city in the desert, and the relationship between the two women only grew stronger. Even though she only skimmed her eyes over the words written in gently flowing Gerudo cursive, phrases still jumped out at her.

… _your hair holds the smell of rain that outlasts stone_ …

… _the sweat that dries in swirling patterns on your skin_ …

… _our souls so excited by sweetness that peaches bloom even in the sand_ …

Zelda continued flipping through the folio, which must have been enchanted in more ways than one, for it contained volumes of letters and thousands of words. But was it really a secret that her mother and the Gerudo queen had been lovers? This sort of thing happened all the time; and, in any case, a relationship that lasted so many years in such intimacy could not have remained a secret for long.

Again she wondered what she was supposed to be looking for. She was even more uncomfortable with reading her mother's letters than she was at betraying her father's privacy, and she was acutely aware of how much time had already passed since she had invaded the king's private study. Zelda let out a deep breath and skipped to the end of the stack, where the letters became much shorter and the penmanship much less confident and flowing.

 _You must have heard the rumors by now_ _,_ began one of these letters without preamble, _but I wanted to let you know firsthand that it's not merely a rumor. I must confess that it's true. But I swore to you that I would not give false hope to my suitors, and I kept my word, as I always have. But my dear, I missed you, and so I left the palace. I can't blame you for your own marriage, yet sometimes I can't bear it, and I wanted to drink in peace, if only to forget you for a moment. There was a traveler from the other side of the desert, and though he was no one special I allowed him to charm me, and once was all it took. I want to think that my body craved a child, a child that should have been impossible, but a child that we could share…_

 _So that was Ganondorf_ , Zelda realized. She skipped over the rest of the pages, which were far too personal for her to read in such a rushed situation, and moved on to the next letter.

 _Yes, it is a son_ , a phrase caught her eye. _I thought to extinguish his life before anyone noticed, but I was weak and could not do it. I prayed he would do us all a favor and die on his own, but he is strong and refuses to succumb to the sickness that takes so many males from us. Since his birth and health became known the rejoicing has been endless, and I must be brave, for no one knows of the legends except the two of us. Perhaps this child is a curse, but I cannot find the right opportunity to rid myself of the burden he has imposed on us. Send me herbs, my love, or send me sugar to substitute for milk, or send me yourself, please, please, please…_

The letter continued on in this vein for some time, and Zelda could hardly bear to look at it. Reading between the lines, it was clear to her that Ganondorf's mother did indeed love him and would never be able to hurt him. But what was this curse she spoke of? What did this woman and her own mother know that they could only hint at it, even in their own private messages to one another?

The next letter was apparently a response to a formal announcement of Zelda's birth, which was perhaps the only reply her mother had sent in the wake of the queen's letter. It was the closest thing to a lover's quarrel that Zelda had encountered in their correspondence, and the Gerudo queen's anger practically leapt off the page.

 _You said you would be true to our promise_ _,_ she wrote, _and now you have a daughter, a tiny blessed daughter. My son alone is bad enough, but now you've gone and named this wretched girl Zelda. Gods, to think that I ever trusted you. This curse is well and truly upon us, but you should know, you damned Hylian whore, that I have never loved you more. If nothing else, we are sisters in our suffering. At the very least the past haunts us both equally..._

Despite the sour rancor embedded in these words, Zelda couldn't help smirking. This is exactly the sort of dramatic pronouncement that Ganondorf was overly fond of making. _Like mother, like son_ , she thought, rolling her eyes. The tragedy waiting at the end of the queens' affair was difficult to process, and Zelda knew she would more than likely ruminate over it later, alone in the darkness of her own solitary tower room, but in the present moment she found that the well of her sympathy was surprisingly shallow. How did the two queens expect that their affair would conclude? Did they really think their love would last forever, if neither of them was willing to sacrifice the full powers of her sovereignty for the sake of the other?

In any case, this must have ended their correspondence for years, for the next letter was a formal acceptance of an invitation to visit Hyrule. This must have been when Ganondorf came to the castle with his mother during the visit that Zelda herself remembered.

At the very bottom of the pile was a curious piece of paper. It wasn't quite a letter, and Zelda could still see the sharp lines of its creases. It must have been hidden in another letter, or perhaps delivered by a trusted messenger.

Written on the paper in block letters different from the queen's usual cursive was an urgent plea for Zelda's mother to come to the desert alone, not as a representative of Hyrule, but in secret. _I miss you so much I can't stand it_ , the queen wrote, and that was the end of it.

When she picked up the note to examine it more closely, Zelda saw that there was a second sheet of thin wax paper adhering to the thicker parchment of the first message. She carefully pried away its edges and was confronted with an amateur botanical illustration accompanied by nothing more than a simple label. The Gerudo name of the flower could be translated as either "Nayru's Blessing" or "Nayru's Curse," but the illustration was not so crude that Zelda didn't know exactly what she was looking at – a Silent Princess.


	21. The Lost Kingdom

Zelda rapped on the door of Ganondorf's rooms with her knuckles.

"Come in," he said in a clear voice from the other side of the door.

She entered and closed the door behind her. When she turned to face Ganondorf he was gazing at her with an expression of intense interest.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his curiosity plain in his voice.

Ganondorf stood next to a bookcase holding a large leather-bound volume in both hands. The books on the shelves were in a state of complete disarray. It was as if he had been picking them up, rifling through them, and putting them down at random. Instead of gaslights or lanterns, he had placed some sort of small glowing globes in the spaces between books. They emitted a soft golden light that was still bright enough to read by. In their glow she could see that the number of plants in the room had increased since she had last been here. If she wasn't mistaken, he had placed a small tray of what looked like flowering rue on one of the shelves, and the slightly protruding middle ledge supported a vase of white foxgloves. He had also placed an earthen pot containing a pothos plant on top of the bookshelf, and its vines hung down in a thick tangle. What in the names of the goddesses was this man _doing_ with so many plants and flowers in here?

Now that she was here, Zelda found herself at a loss for what to say. She briefly regretted her decision to confront Ganondorf immediately after leaving the king's quarters, especially dressed as she was, in a gown and sandals, with her hair just as messy as his bookshelf. She knew how she must look, but she couldn't very well excuse herself and leave.

She withdrew the folded note that she'd found at the bottom of her mother's chest and held it out to Ganondorf along with the small illustration that had been affixed to it.

"This is – _was_ – your mother's. That is to say, she sent it to my mother."

Ganondorf put the book he was holding down next to the vase of foxgloves and walked over to her. He took the two sheets of paper from her hand and studied them briefly.

"I thought as much," he said, his face betraying no emotion. "Where did you get this?"

"I found it hidden in a chest of my mother's personal effects. There were other letters as well, but I'm afraid I don't understand what this implies. What did your mother want, exactly?"

"I assume she wanted me killed."

Although she had no desire to admit it to Ganondorf, that had been Zelda's conclusion as well. She'd more or less been able to piece together the story on her own, but she still needed confirmation before she made any assumptions.

"But the poison never found its way to you," she prompted.

"Obviously." An unreadable look crossed Ganondorf's face, and he crushed the paper in his fist. Before Zelda could say anything, flames leapt up from between his closed fingers, and in an instant his entire hand was wreathed in fire.

Zelda couldn't manage to suppress a small gasp, but she forced herself to remain calm as her mind raced. She had no intention of continuing a conversation with Ganondorf if his reaction was to start setting things on fire, but the intensity of his response signaled to Zelda that she no longer needed any sort of corroboration for her hypothesis. Ganondorf's mother had wanted him to die, but she couldn't bring herself to do it with her own hands, so she had asked the Queen of Hyrule to do it for her. Regretting her decision at the last moment, however, she must have ingested the tea brewed with the petals of the Silent Princess herself, and it had killed her. Her own mother had died shortly thereafter. Either she had been so consumed with guilt that she had taken her own life or the Gerudo had suspected her of murder and surreptitiously taken the matter into their own hands. The result was the same either way.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Zelda muttered. "I had… I really had no idea. I'm so sorry."

"Not as sorry as your mother, apparently."

Zelda winced at Ganondorf's cruelty. _Strike him_ , a voice whispered like a chill winter wind from the back of her mind, and she had to exercise every ounce of her willpower not to give in to the urge to do precisely that.

"What drove them to do this?" she asked instead.

Ganondorf relaxed his fist, and the flames surrounding it faded. There was no ash on his palm, nor any trace of the paper he'd been holding. Once again his face was as smooth as a mask.

"What drove them to do this?" he repeated her question. "Me, apparently."

"Just because there's some sort of legend that Gerudo males are cursed? I refuse to believe that."

"Who's to say that Gerudo males aren't cursed? You've seen the proof with your own eyes. We both have. Curse or no curse, the only thing either us has seen in your visions is war."

 _That's not all we saw_ , Zelda thought, remembering how he had kissed her, but she held her tongue.

"But why does there always have to be some sort of conflict?" she demanded instead. "Why does it have to be like this?"

"Did Link tell you about the Master Sword when you spoke to him?"

"What?"

"You heard what I said."

"How do you know that I talked to Link?"

"He suggested as much to Nabooru, and she told me." Ganondorf shrugged. "I've tried speaking with him myself, but I can never get him to be serious. I suppose I can't blame him. He is destined to kill me, after all."

Zelda shook her head, flustered at the strange turn this conversation had taken. She considered her options and decided that it was easiest simply to trust that what Ganondorf was telling her was true. If the ocarina and its magic were real, then the Master Sword must be real as well.

"If Link is 'the legendary hero,' then he would indeed wield the Master Sword, but he's never said anything about it. At least, not to me. But…" Zelda paused for a moment as she thought, trying to remember what she had read in various places. "The Master Sword is part of the magic that seals whatever darkness is supposed to be lurking just under the surface of Hyrule, and if it's drawn from its pedestal then the seal will be broken. It's said that it can only be drawn in the most dire of circumstances, when the evil in Hyrule is already greater than what would be unleashed by breaking the seal. There's a lot I don't know about what happens in this kingdom, but surely there's no cause for Link to have to draw the Master Sword, not now. I know him, he wouldn't…"

"You don't know anything about him," Ganondorf snarled. The undisguised fury on his face frightened her. She had seen Ganondorf angry, but never like this. She took a step back, and his expression rapidly shifted to something resembling shame. In that moment Zelda realized how frightened he was, and how difficult it must be for him to control his emotions while discussing whatever curse had caused his mother's death and would presumably result in his own as well. Nevertheless, she refused to respond to this burst of rage and fixed her own face into a cold frown of displeasure as she met his eyes.

Ganondorf looked away first. "The Master Sword is located somewhere in this castle," he said, obviously struggling to maintain a calm tone of voice. "There would be no other reason for Link to come here. He loves animals, he always has, but I can only assume that he found a position as a menial laborer because servants tend to know things that pass beneath the eyes of their employers. If there's a secret to be found, that would have been the best way for him to find it, and I'd be willing to bet he located what he was looking for almost immediately. I've never met a more restless person in my life, and I can assure you that the only reason he stays here is to be close to that sword."

"You're making a lot of assumptions," Zelda replied. "But let's just say that all of this is true. Even if the Master Sword is here in the castle, and even if Link does know exactly where it is, and even if he does for some reason feel a compulsion to be close to it, what makes you think that he would ever use it?"

"He'll use it," Ganondorf said, turning his back to her as he returned to the bookshelf.

Zelda hated it when people walked away from her, and she made no attempt to conceal the irritation in her voice when she responded to him. "He won't use it if I don't tell him to. If he's the hero of legend, then I'm the princess of legend, and I'm the one giving the orders."

"He'll use it whether you ask him to or not. In case you haven't noticed, you're not the person he's pledged his loyalty to."

"Then who is?"

"Isn't it obvious? He's a spy for the king."

"Oh…" Zelda exhaled. She hadn't noticed; but, now that Ganondorf stated it boldly as a fact, a great many things started to make sense to her. The sudden rush of information made her feel faint, and she realized that she had been standing just inside the doorway of the sitting room and talking to Ganondorf for quite some time.

"That's a problem for both of us, then, isn't it," she said in a flat voice. "Are you going to invite me to sit down, or are we just going to stand here making accusations at each other all night?"

"Fine. Come in. Sit down. Make yourself at home," Ganondorf said, his words clipped.

Zelda walked over to the couch with as much dignity as she could muster and sat, lifting the hem of her gown to cross her legs as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Now offer me tea," she ordered.

Ganondorf turned to her with an incredulous look on his face. "You just found out that your mother killed mine with an herbal infusion, and now you want tea?"

"Don't act all high and mighty," Zelda replied, making an angry gesture with her hand. "You've known this all along. And you've kept it from me, lording the secret over me like my ignorance gave you some sort of power. And your mother isn't the only person who ended up dead, so don't act like you have the right to get upset with me. All this time we've been sharing visions of past wars that both of our mothers died to prevent from recurring. So yes, I think you owe me the common courtesy of giving me something to drink. I'm thirsty."

"Great Din, you haven't changed at all since you were a girl. How could I have forgotten how bossy you are?" Ganondorf rolled his eyes, and the gesture was so childish that Zelda couldn't help smirking. "But fine, have some tea," he continued. "Be my guest. You're lucky that I already have some brewed and put on ice. I'll pour you a glass, if it suits Your Highness. Or would you prefer to watch me go through the trouble of making fresh tea myself?"

"Chilled tea will be fine. Be a dear and try not to poison it."

"I'll do my best to refrain." Ganondorf lifted a corner of his mouth in a vague approximation of a smile. "But what would you do, if I did?"

"I'd die, I suppose." Zelda shrugged. "But I'm going to be queen in what, two days now? Think of all the plans that will have to be canceled. I'm serious, just think of all the banquets you'd no longer have to attend. Of course, I wouldn't have to go either, so you might just be doing both of us a favor."

"I suppose you're right." Ganondorf nodded sagely. "I can't deny that I'm tempted, but a lot of cake would go to waste."

"Wasted cake? How much cake are we talking about here?"

"If only you know," Ganondorf hinted as he made his way over to an icebox set directly into the stone floor. He withdrew a handsome glass carafe filled with pale golden tea. It was covered in frosty condensation. "I've been to the kitchens, and I've seen what's being prepared for your coronation. There are hills of cake, mountains of cake, cake beyond your wildest imagining."

Zelda smiled in satisfaction. She didn't care for cake herself, but she remembered that Ganondorf had a sweet tooth, and it amused her to know that he hadn't outgrown it. "You have access to some of the most powerful magic in Hyrule, and that's how you use it? To sneak cake out of the kitchen?"

"Of course," he answered, offering her a glass of cold tea with mint leaves floating on its surface. "A man has to eat."

"I could have you arrested for treason." Zelda took a sip of the tea. It was delicious and refreshing, and she suddenly found that she was incredibly thirsty. She threw her head back as she drained the glass.

Ganondorf smirked down at her. "You'd have to call it _treat_ son.'"

Zelda almost choked as she swallowed. _Did he actually try to make a joke?_ she thought, coughing. "Is that supposed to be funny in Gerudo?" she asked once she recovered.

"I'll have you know that I'm much more charming in Gerudo. You should really learn to speak it."

"I should, actually," Zelda agreed. She could read the language with almost perfect fluency, but she had never had any occasion to practice speaking it, and she wasn't confident that she could carry on a conversation without embarrassing herself.

"While we're on the subject," she said, changing the subject completely, "where did you get those lanterns on the bookshelf? What are they? I've never seen anything like them before. Do the Gerudo make them?"

"I guess you could say that," Ganondorf replied as he sat down beside her. "But the truth is that we just refurbish them. The ruins in the desert are filled with things like this, and we're only just now excavating some of the more accessible sites and figuring out how to get these artifacts to work. But excavation is dangerous and progress is slow, and in the meantime we have other things to worry about. Nothing that's come out of this research has been profitable, so it's not something we devote our resources to. So there these archaeological sites sit, just as undisturbed as they've been for centuries, I'd imagine."

"That sounds fascinating," Zelda said, genuinely intrigued. "I'd like to see some of these ruins for myself."

Ganondorf stared at her in disbelief. "Perhaps you understand why you wouldn't be welcome."

Zelda smiled and met his eyes. "Then welcome me."

"It would be my pleasure." Ganondorf held her gaze, but the humor had faded from his face. He was a stranger in this castle, and Zelda was just now realizing that he had probably expected to meet his death here. In fact, now that she reconsidered their conversation in the inner courtyard garden, it struck her that he clearly thought his death would more than likely come at her hands. As long as he remained in Hyrule, she held the power in their relationship. In truth, between their visions of the past and what had already occurred during their own lives, there was no reason for him to be friendly to her. She should have been a much more gracious host in the weeks that he'd been here, and it was only now that she'd sought out the opportunity to speak to him in private like this.

Zelda swallowed her pride and made a firm resolution to be kind. There had already been enough misunderstandings, but for the time being it was her responsibility to ease the tension between them.

"Are your quarters in your own castle filled with flowers as well?" she asked, trying to draw him out.

"No," he answered bluntly. The was a strained moment of silence, and she couldn't think of anything to say to fill it. She tried to take another sip of tea, but her glass was empty. Ganondorf gave a gentle smile at the awkwardness of the situation and took the cup from her.

"We have greenhouses filled with flowers, of course, but we maintain them for medicinal purposes," he said as he refilled her glass from the carafe. "No one would use flowers to make a room look pretty. But here in your castle, before they're more than a day old, you just…" He paused, apparently searching for the right words, but then shrugged in resignation. "But you just throw them out."

"So you rescue them, and you keep them here because you like them?"

As Zelda saw a faint blush creep up Ganondorf's cheeks, she realized that was exactly what he did. He loved flowers; he always had. It made her happy to think that she knew these things about him: that he loved flowers, that he liked sweet things, what he had been like as a child, the way he could never pronounce certain words correctly, how he put books up and back down without any regard for their proper order. At the moment, all of these tiny bits of knowledge about him seemed even more meaningful than the fact that he could use magic or that both of their mothers had believed him to be cursed.

"Herbs are useful in potion brewing," Ganondorf remarked while he poured himself a glass of tea. As he drank, Zelda noticed that he chewed and swallowed the mint leaves at the top. She tried it herself as he continued speaking. "It's something the Sheikah and the Gerudo have in common, our herbal lore. Gerudo legends say that the Sheikah learned their magic and technology from us, but who knows for sure? Sheikah symbols have been found in our ruins, so we may have once been the same tribe. We have entire walls of scrolls in the palace library, so many that it would take a lifetime to read even half of them. The truth might be written in one of them, but just like the ruins in the desert, we have other things to worry about."

"Speaking of legends," Zelda interrupted him, "Link may be loyal to my father, but I think he may have tried to give me a message."

"How so?" Ganondorf asked, openly curious.

Zelda was surprised by the lack of bitterness in his tone, which was completely at odds with the anger she had seen him express earlier. "You don't really hate him, do you?" she asked.

"No, I don't hate him. I even wished we could be friends, years ago. He may have already told you this, but he spent some time with the Gerudo, and he was the only other boy in the palace. Nabooru found him wandering out in the desert and took him in, and she found a position for him as some sort of courier. I always wanted to find an excuse to talk with him, but I wasn't…"

Zelda smiled, remembering what Ganondorf was like when he was younger. "You didn't strike me as the sort of kid who made friends easily."

Ganondorf returned her smile. "You could certainly say that."

"So," she continued, "while Link and I were talking, mainly about how dangerous you might be, Link played a song for me. He played it on a Gerudo guitar, but it didn't sound like any Gerudo music I've ever heard. He played the refrain more than once. It was like he was playing it for my benefit, so that I would remember it. I showed him the ocarina a few days ago, and he seemed quite interested in it. If he knows about the Master Sword, I wonder if he doesn't maybe also have some understanding of what the ocarina is and how it works…"

"So why don't you try playing it? Did you bring the ocarina with you?" Ganodnorf asked, motioning toward her satchel, which she had kept close to her side.

"I do want to try to play it, but… Is that okay with you?" she asked, thinking of the vertigo and confusion she experienced during her visions. "Is it uncomfortable for you, to do this?"

"It is," Ganondorf answered honestly. "But I want to do it anyway."

"Okay." Zelda exhaled slowly, gathering her thoughts as she took out the ocarina. With Ganondorf watching her so closely, she felt awkward, but as soon as she put her lips to the mouthpiece of the instrument Link's melody came to her naturally. The song was rousing and heroic, and even though she missed a few notes at the beginning she was able to find the tune quickly. She was almost starting to enjoy herself when she began to feel the familiar sense of displacement in the pit of her stomach, but she closed her eyes and continued playing until she could no longer feel the ocarina under her fingers or hear its music in her ears.

When she opened her eyes everything was bright, and she was flying. Or, no – not quite flying. She was in the sky, but she had no awareness of her own body. It was as if she were the sky itself, a brilliantly blue sky, and she was so high up that she could look down on the clouds. One in particular caught her attention, a towering cumulonimbus ringed by eerie lenticular swirls. When she focused her gaze she realized that she could see anything she wanted in sharp detail, and it didn't take her long to realize that there were two distinct figures standing at the top of the cloud formation. One of them was Link. He was wearing a strange green tunic sewn from coarse fabric, and a long matching cap that flapped behind his ears, but he was undoubtedly Link. He held a long blade of shining steel in his left hand. He was pointing the sword at his opponent, but what he was facing was entirely beyond Zelda's comprehension. It was like a blur of pure darkness that trailed a mantle of flame behind it, and she could almost make it out, but –

 _Spare that pitiful creature from your sight_ , a voice spoke in her mind, except it wasn't a "voice," exactly, but a magnificent chorus of song. It lifted Zelda's spirit, and she felt as if she were suddenly borne aloft on a profusion of wings, each pinion quivering in harmony. The sensation of flight and the accompanying feeling of being filled with power flooded her heart with light. The intensity of the experience would have taken her breath away if her breath weren't the very wind itself.

 _May the goddess grant me wisdom_ , Zelda prayed, the words echoing through her heart more earnestly than they ever had before.

Her silent prayer was met with laughter, a tintinnabulation of joy that was radiant in its purity.

 _You are the wisdom you seek_ , the voice sounded again in her mind. _But it is a balance, a sweep and a rise, a creation and a reshaping, the dance of youth and age, the triumph of experience and the renewal of innocence. Look, and understand._

Zelda's gaze was swept through the clouds, skimming along the white fluffy tops of the altostratus dusting the sky, and then she could see a city, a beautiful city of stone and marble and trees and waterfalls, all perched on a series of islands floating serenely in the aether. The buildings soared over the tops of the trees even as roots dangled from the bottom layer of soil, and the entire ecosystem was teeming with vibrant life. Zelda could feel its energy vibrating in every particle of her being.

 _How_ , she asked herself, but she already knew. This was divine magic. What Ganondorf had learned from his books and scrolls was nothing more than a tiny remnant of this vast force. How impressed she had been with him, but he had merely scooped a thimbleful of water from an endless ocean. What she was seeing now was the magic the had created this world.

Again laughter pealed like bells through the heavens. _These are nothing more than the ruins that formed the cradle of your birth_ , the voice sang. _Let me show you the true magic – let me show you Hyrule!_

The clouds began to race around her, and the stars danced across the sky, streaming light in their wake. Zelda allowed the passage of time to flow through her, and it felt incredible. She was on the verge of crying out in pleasure, so she closed her eyes until the sensation had abated. When she opened them again, the sight that greeted her was nothing less than pure glory.

She was looking at Hyrule. She knew this as surely as she knew her own name, but it was a Hyrule beyond her wildest fantasies. Towers blazing with illumination stretched to the sky, and wide roads cut across the land like rivers. These monuments erected by Hylian hands were interspersed with bodies of water so clear they reflected the azure of the sky and stretches of green so lush and deep they were like a hymn offered by the very earth itself. The sight was so vast and rich that Zelda could hardly take it all in, and she knew it was hers. The city and the floating islands and even the sky itself – it was all hers, and it was all good, and it was all just, and it was all as it should be.

Zelda's heart was filled with an overwhelming sense of peace and contentment, but something was wrong. Everything was bright and beautiful, so much so that it was difficult to concentrate. She resisted the pull of this expansive sense of enlightenment; she had to, if she wanted to think for herself.

She struggled to form words in her mind, and slowly she was able to germinate her seeds of doubt into a solid sense of purpose. _If I truly am a descendant of the goddess Hylia_ , she thought, _then why am I mortal? If Hyrule was meant to be a shining beacon of civilization, then what happened to it? How did it fall?_

There was no response, so she concentrated the force of her will into a silent scream. _Show me the battle!_ she commanded whoever or whatever was guiding her. Even if she were speaking directly to the goddess Hylia herself, she still had a right to understand her heritage. _Show me what the hero had to fight with that sword!_

There was a sound like a soft sigh, and the most delicate and gentle feeling of regret passed through her. In an instant, the city below her was engulfed in flames. Time turned back on itself and flowed forward once again, and the proud towers fell as the roads were blasted away. The green became brown, and the water became mud. In the sky the some of the floating islands were swept violently away as if on the back of a great atmospheric wave, while the ones that remained crumbled away, falling bit by bit below the clouds until only a few small hovels and meager fields remained on a scattering of mossy rocks only barely holding themselves aloft.

And then her gaze shifted once again to Link, who no longer stood opposite an amorphous challenger but danced in a succession of blows with a black scaled monster that had only the vaguest resemblance to a man. It spit fire and fury, but its movements were oddly lacking in coordination, as if it had forgotten how to move and was only manipulating its body through brute force. Link's sword – it must be the Master Sword – was straight and shining and pure, while the blade the monster clutched in one of its gigantic clawed fists was horribly twisted. Link was the perfect embodiment of skill and grace, and Zelda felt sorry for the pitiful thing he struck, over and over again as each of his hits landed with deadly accuracy.

But what were they fighting about, and why? Zelda looked even farther down, and she saw that the column of clouds was rising from a pit in the earth. She narrowed the focus of her gaze, and then she could see, at the very bottom of the pit, a girl in a dirty white dress lying inert on a stone tablet riddled with cracks and blotched with bloodstains that were still wet. The girl's face was terribly contorted in anguish, but Zelda still recognized herself immediately. A second later, she understood why she was in pain – her spirit was being leached by the monster in the clouds, and she was resisting it with all her might.

The scope of her vision widened, and she saw that this girl on a stone lay at the center of Hyrule, which was nothing more than miles and miles of ruins and scorched earth. The mountains spewed lava, and the sea had become a barren desert. Zelda suddenly understood what had happened, and how.

She lifted her gaze to the battle, and she examined the monster's face closely. Despite its jutting fangs and its sharp protruding scales and the jets of flame it expelled, the curve of its nose and the angle of its jaw and the gold of its eyes were intimately familiar to her.

 _Curse you_ , she prayed, her words echoing through the sky. _May your fury forever be futile. May you find no allies on this earth, and may you forever walk alone in your misery. May your struggle only bring you pain, and may you never be anything more than raging and blind._

Time slowed, and the edges of the world blurred as the demon turned its head away from Link and fixed its glowing eyes directly on her. It saw her and then, with its fearsome mouth, it smiled.

 _Then let it be so_ , it said, its sonorous voice beautiful beyond reason. _May this battle be yours as well, and may it continue until not a single memory is left of your kingdom. Until the sky falls, and until the earth rises to meet it, my hatred will follow your descendants. This is the fate you have chosen, Goddess. May the curse you have laid become your legend._

It hated her, of that she could be sure, but there was a strange look of longing in its gaze before it bowed its head and closed its eyes. Time resumed its normal flow, and in that instant Link leapt into the air and brought the Master Sword down on the creature's head. As it fell to its knees, Zelda understood that it had allowed itself to be defeated. It knew it could not win this fight, but it had decided to lose it on its own terms.

The monster seemed to be saying something to Link, but Zelda could no longer hear its words. The wind was rushing in her ears, and the light was fading from the sky. She felt her spirit being violently pulled back down into the body on the stone altar, and the last thing she saw was the uncannily familiar golden eyes of the demon as it trembled and shook in agony.

Everything went black, and when Zelda returned to herself she found Ganondorf staring at her, his own golden eyes burning with an unfathomable rage.

She didn't understand why he was looking at her like that, but she wasn't sure she understood anything at this point. "Did you… Did you see that?" she asked, desperately trying to reestablish her foothold in reality as she processed what she'd just experienced. "I don't… What happened?"

"You're asking me if I saw that idiot child murder the divine guardian of this land?" Ganondorf asked her, his voice cold and dry. "You're asking me what happened? You saw it as clearly as I did, you heard their words. Your goddess destroyed Hyrule to spite the one force on this earth that could keep her power in check, and then she doomed its people to eternal war. Your ancestors did this, Zelda – _you_ did this. Hyrule will burn, and you will watch it, knowing that its people will turn to their sacred princess in their weakness and despair. All this death, all this decay – this is the glory of your throne. This is your legacy."


	22. A Swiftly Encroaching Darkness

It's amazing, really, how rapidly order can descend into chaos. One moment everything is fine, but the next moment nothing is. In retrospect we desperately wish we could have foreseen the catalyst that triggered the calamity, but at the time our eyes were turned elsewhere.

* * *

"But I saw everything," Zelda objected. "That monster, whatever it was, destroyed Hyrule. There was a city, and it burned. The entire land burned."

"That 'monster' was a god, and it didn't destroy Hyrule," Ganondorf replied in voice that was so devoid of emotion that it disturbed Zelda more than his earlier anger. "Hylia did that."

"But why would she – "

"To keep it out of the hands of her enemies."

Zelda opened her mouth, thought better of what she was about to say, and closed it. This was something to think about. She was still overwhelmed by what she had just witnessed, but a stray thought tugged at a corner of her mind.

"When the monster, or god, or whatever is was… When it cursed that girl, it didn't curse her specifically, did it? It cursed her descendants. That's what it said, right?"

Ganondorf narrowed his eyes. "What of it?"

"So listen, maybe all we have to do to break the curse is not have children."

Zelda watched as the light of understanding filled Ganondorf's eyes.

"That's… That's why I came here," he said.

"That's why you… What?"

"That's why I came to Hyrule, to avoid having children."

Zelda was struck by an icy stab of jealousy. Who would Ganondorf have children with? Now that she thought about it, it would make sense for him to be engaged already. Or, at the very least, being surrounded by women as he was…

"I thought you came to attend my coronation," she said, unable to excise the bitterness from her voice.

"I had to fight Nabooru to get her to allow me to attend in her place."

Something about this didn't sit right with Zelda. "But aren't you the king of the Gerudo?" she asked. "Why wouldn't it be you who attended?"

"I'm the only highborn male in a city full of women. I have one job as king, and it's not to rule the country."

Zelda suddenly understood what he meant, and Ganondorf laughed as her eyes widened.

"I made it clear that I had no interest in that sort of thing, but Nabooru managed to convince the council of state that I might find inspiration if I spent time in Hyrule."

"And did you?" Zelda asked. She smiled before she kissed him.

* * *

There are many things about the current state of affairs in Hyrule that Zelda suspects but does not know. How could she?

How could she know why all the Darknuts have left the castle? How could she know why Barghest has remained? Zelda is attentive to detail, but she is bothered by these questions no more than a baker is bothered by the comings and goings of the assistants to the miller who grinds his flour. In an earlier era, perhaps a monarch would have been able to track the movements of every member of her staff, but Hyrule has thrived and flourished in the two hundred years since the last war, and the size of the bureaucracy that occupies the castle has grown along with the population, as has the number of people needed to keep the machine of state running efficiently. Zelda's domain is the abstract realm of numbers and letters, not the care and feeding of the horses in the royal stables.

How could she know, then, that rebellion has fermented among the Darknuts, and that Barghest's motives for remaining in the service of the Hylian king have little to do with loyalty?

Link knows, and he might even have told her if she'd thought to ask him, but she didn't. Why would she? Zelda has always been aware that he hides things from her, but it's only recently occurred to her that what he hasn't said is far more important than what he has. As she sat on the floor of her father's study surrounded by her late mother's letters, Zelda considered finding Link to confront him, but it took her no longer than the space of a sigh to decide that their conversation could wait. After all, she has other fires to attend to at the moment.

* * *

"This doesn't have to be so complicated," Zelda murmured into Ganondorf's ear. "We can be civilized and have this conversation like civilized people."

"Civilization didn't make your ancestors any less evil," he responded, turning his head to kiss her.

"'Evil' is a strong word," she said, twisting her face away from him.

"So is 'monster.'" He put a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her to him. She allowed his tongue to find hers. He took his time.

She eventually pushed him away, her hands on his chest. "I should go," she said, intending to do no such thing.

He placed his hands over hers. "Don't go," he said, kissing the corner of her mouth. "We haven't finished talking yet."

"Can you convince me to stay?" she countered, allowing the upturn of her question to linger on the fullness of his bottom lip.

"Just try to get away," he said. She felt every movement of his teeth on her skin.

"Is that a challenge?" She smiled and turned to leave. He caught her by the arms and reeled her in so that her back was pinned against the front of his body. He had her trapped, at least in play.

"Would you like to be challenged?" he asked, trailing the fingers of his hand down her throat and sliding his thumb under the strap of her gown.

* * *

In less than two days Zelda will become a queen. This has real political significance concerning the balance of power in the kingdom, but the ceremonies themselves symbolize the stability of continuity and reflect the contentment of a people who have never been attacked, who have never readied themselves for war, who have never known true hardship for hundreds of years. Peace has resulted in wealth, and wealth demands comfort. Trade has flourished, as has culture. Hyrule is a prosperous kingdom, and its people have much to celebrate.

As dignitaries from across the land congregate, festivities continue within the great hall of the castle. Likewise, raucous merrymaking enlivens the city, until suddenly it doesn't.

All it takes is a single spark to light a fire, but that spark will not catch if it doesn't find kindling to burn.

The centuries since the last war have been good to the victors, but the prejudice against those who opposed the monarchy has been slow to fade. The Zora have enjoyed the favor of Hyrule, as have the Rito and the Gorons. The Darknuts, once proud knights who served both the Hylians and the Gerudo, have not been so lucky – the Sheikah saw to that. Entire generations were lost on both sides the last time Hyrule Castle came under siege, and neither the monarchy's allies nor those who fought alongside the vanquished Gerudo were forgiven. Cubs were lifted from the cold hands of their parents and placed into the homes of Hylians, who took their language and names and shaped them into model subjects of the queen who had denied the same opportunity to their families. Children grew as decades passed, and perhaps injustices would have eventually been forgotten had not memory persisted in the shadowed hills and forests of Ordon, where the light of the divine queens could not reach.

The Darknuts had once despised the Moblins. They thought, as did most of Hyrule, that they were no more than savage beasts, barely capable of language and only good for the most menial of tasks. The Darknuts were strong, but they were architects while the Moblins hauled stone. The Darknuts were fierce, but they were strategists while the Moblins fell on the front lines. The Darknuts had a way with animals, but they bred prize horses while the Moblins shoveled shit. When the Gerudo turned their backs on Hyrule and the Darknuts had nowhere else to go, however, the Moblins gave them shelter in the ruins hidden in the forgotten corners of Hyrule. The Moblins defended their territory with the ferocity of a people who know what it means to be hunted, but the Darknuts quickly learned that they were by no means uncivilized.

The Gerudo keep a close watch over these ruins, and they maintain good relations with the communities that live there. Water springs from deep within the bedrock upon which crumbling towers and dusty underground palaces have been built, presenting opportunities for Gerudo engineers and Darknut masons alike. Trade flourishes, with the fruits of the sandy soil exchanged for cool water, and in recent years strange relics have begun to surface and circulate. Old grudges fade slowly, however, and the Gerudo know better than to interrupt the slumber of the ancient deities that may still dwell within the sites once sacred to the Hylians. Neither the Gerudo nor the Darknuts venture farther than their Moblin guides will lead them.

This balance was maintained until, almost two hundred years after the Darknuts were driven from Hyrule, a Gerudo prince once again ascended to the throne. The prince asked questions, and he demanded answers. Unlike those who came before him, he was not afraid of the power of the ancients, and he devoured the messages of the glyphs carved into the timeless walls with a ferocious hunger that could not be sated.

* * *

Ganondorf slowly moved his hand until it was directly over the line of fabric dividing Zelda's skin from her dress. She could feel the weight of his palm on her breast, whose peak stiffened into a hard point from the pleasant friction. Ganondorf must have noticed, for he shifted his palm to cup her breast and circled her sensitive nipple with his thumb. Zelda sighed softly, and he kissed her neck with an equal softness.

"Let me touch you," he whispered into her ear, and Zelda nodded.

Ganondorf slipped his hand under the fabric, and then the heat of his palm was directly on her skin. He met the curve of her breast with the firmness of his fingers, trapping her nipple as he teased it with his thumb. He did not paw at her as other men had done, but neither was he gentle.

He kissed her at the base of her ear and then moved his arm around her as his hand glided down to the skirt of her gown. He touched her bare leg, murmuring in appreciation as he stroked the smooth skin of her thigh, and then he raised his hand so that the thin fabric of her dress cascaded like a waterfall from the ropy muscle of his forearm. The tips of his fingers burned against her stomach as he caressed her bare skin. Zelda knew exactly what he was doing, and she allowed it to happen. She whispered his name into his mouth and reached down to position his hand between her legs.

He exhaled as his fingers slid over the silk of her panties, and he cupped her sex delicately, as if it were a precious thing. When he began petting her, he did so gently, moving his fingers back and forth slowly across her. The strong pressure of his middle finger created a delicious tension, especially as it lingered at the top of her slit.

Ganondorf shifted his position, and touch of his hardness against her back made her feel as if she were melting. She wanted more, and so she turned to face him, pressing herself against him as she pinned his waist between her legs. His eyes were liquid gold as he gazed at her in wonder, and she kissed him.

She tasted sweetness, nothing but sweetness, a surfeit of the sweetest things – the taste of his lips and the touch of his hands and the fragrance of his hair. When Zelda had dallied with men before, there would always be a moment when her curiosity chilled and curdled into discomfort, but her desire for Ganondorf only grew warmer. There was only his cool breath, the spiciness of his tongue, and the pressure of his fingers on her neck, calloused and unyielding, forcing her to lift her face and open her mouth to his.

As they kissed Zelda remembered how he had led her in a dance through the air above the ruined castle in the Twilight Realm. She felt the same giddy rush of flying, but now she had complete control. She guided Ganondorf's hands where she needed them to be, flush against her skin. He grew even harder at her waist, the thickness of his length hot on the skin of her belly. When she moved to adjust her position he groaned low in his throat, and she rocked against him, taking her pleasure as she teased him. She knew what his hands were capable of, and she wanted to force him to use them. She wanted to force him to lose control.

* * *

The Moblins waiting outside the city walls have been watching for a sign, and the smoke rising above the ramparts is as good a sign as any. It's difficult to say who throws the first stone, who fires the first shot, who bellows the first war cry. Various people will later proudly claim or vehemently deny the charge, but in the end it doesn't matter. Buildings burn, fighting fills the streets, and Darknuts lead battalions of Moblins as they pour through the city gates to join their brothers and sisters. The soldiers withdraw from the chaos, determined to defend the castle at all costs. Their commanders believe that Hyrule Castle is the primary target of the invaders, whose forces move through the city on their way to the center. This assumption proves to be correct.

Ganondorf was not being entirely honest when he suggested to Zelda that his primary purpose is to breed Gerudo children. He had been raised to be a king, and he occupies a political position equal to that of the council of elders who govern the Gerudo city in the desert. He has never seen himself as a leader, however; his interests are far more specific.

When his mother was poisoned by the Hylian queen he realized that he would not be able to serve his people through statecraft. He knew his martial prowess would never be equal to that of the women who spend their lives training to serve at the palace, so instead he developed his talent in magic. The pursuit of knowledge became its own reward; but, for every question he answered, dozens more sprang up in its place. Eventually he arrived at the mystery that lay at the core of these questions – Where did magic come from? All evidence pointed him in the direction of Hyrule, where, ironically, magic had all but disappeared. Why?

Ganondorf ventured deep into the abandoned temples and sprawling underground mazes where the Darknuts and Moblins made their home. Unlike the other Gerudo, he was eager to learn their language, and with only a minimum of instruction he had taught himself to read the spiraling mosaics that served as their writing. The Moblins had drawn this system from the patterns of glyphs covering the walls of the ruins they occupied, and with their help Ganondorf began to read these walls, lines running along narrow corridors and across vast chambers, which flared to life with magic as he chanted, one wording echoing like a refrain – Triforce. No matter how much he learned, he still kept asking questions. Why? Why? Why?

Ganondorf was courteous and generous to the people who watched his journeys and assisted in his excavations, but he felt no sense of obligation to them. Nevertheless, they were infected by the relentless flame of his curiosity. "Why" is a powerful question, and the answers it dredges up can be dangerous. At first Ganondorf was nothing more than a child, and then he was a strange and sullen teenager, and when he became a king he ceased to visit at all, bound as he was to his people. Nevertheless his legend spread among the Darknuts, who have never forgotten their history, and even the Moblins have started to whisper the name of a fallen god who may one day rise again – Ganon.

* * *

The doors to Ganondorf's chambers burst open, sending a pile of books flying. The vibrations upset a vase perched on one of the bookshelves set along the wall, and it shattered on the floor, spilling flowers and water in a fan across the tiles.

"Impa!" Zelda exclaimed, digging her nails into Ganondorf's shoulders as his muscles tensed.

Impa stood in the doorway as a dozen Sheikah filed past her into the room. "Seize this man," she ordered, fixing Ganondorf in an icy stare.

Zelda rose to her feet and adjusted her dress, blocking Ganondorf with her body. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded. "I've got this situation under control."

"I have no doubt you do," Impa responded, "but the orders to arrest him came directly from the king."

"Then we will talk to the king directly," Zelda insisted. "The Gerudo ambassador has done nothing to deserve this treatment. And can't this wait until morning? Surely my father knows better than to send Sheikah barging into the rooms of one of our guests in the middle of the night. I will not allow you to take this man anywhere without my permission."

"If I may," Ganondorf spoke up from behind her.

"What?" Zelda muttered, not allowing her eyes to leave Impa's face.

Ganondorf laid a hand on her waist, and there was a metallic hiss as the Sheikah drew their weapons in unison.

"Stand down." Zelda raised her voice in the cool assurance of command, and Impa shrugged in acquiescence. The assassins stepped back, but they did not sheath their blades.

Ganondorf gently positioned Zelda to the side as he stood. He stretched his arms and fastened the clasps at his collar. "I've been meaning to see the castle dungeon," he said casually. "I knew this would happen sooner or later, and I'm honored to have been granted such a fine escort. By all means, take me away. I'm sure this will be resolved soon, one way or another."

Zelda glared at him, but he didn't meet her eyes. The silence was so thick that Zelda could hear her heart beating in her ears.

Impa weighed his words for a moment before arriving at a decision. "Blindfold him," she said, snapping her fingers at the woman positioned at her right hand. "And make sure his wrists are bound in the back. Keep a knife at his neck, we don't want to take any chances with this one."

As her orders were carried out, she walked to Ganondorf, putting herself between him and Zelda. "I wouldn't try anything funny if I were you," she said. "I'm sure you know what will happen if one of those blades so much grazes your skin."

"I'm familiar with your poisons," Ganondorf sneered. " _Intimately_."

Impa narrowed her eyes. "Gag him too."

Ganondorf allowed himself to be bound and led out of the room tightly ringed by a phalanx of Sheikah. Impa remained behind with Zelda, who watched the proceedings with a blank stare.

"Well, that was fun," she said after the doors whispered shut. "Do you want to explain what's going on?"

Impa took Zelda's hands before pulling her into a fierce hug. She released her but kept her fingers twined through Zelda's. "Heart of my heart," she said, "I understand what you were trying to do, but I can't even begin to fathom how you could bring yourself to touch that man. I thought it would be better not to tell you, but he's single-handedly bringing about the downfall of this kingdom. He cursed Jabun and the Deku Tree, which are dying as we speak. If they die, the Zora and the Kokiri will die with them, and he doesn't care. He provoked the dragon on Death Mountain into attacking Darunia's son, and the boy is as good as dead. Still he sits in this castle and smiles like a thief. But don't let him fool you. If only you knew what he's done…"

"Impa," Zelda said softly as she squeezed her hand. "I knew."

* * *

Daphnes is a good man, kind and just. He is a good king as well, and he has tirelessly devoted himself to the welfare of his people. He knew about his wife's affair, and he accepted it. He performed his duty to her as best he could, as he continues to do his duty to her daughter – their daughter. He loved the queen, but it was a distant admiration, and he gives all the affection he could not express to her to Zelda. He adores his daughter, and he has faith that she will become a capable ruler who brings glory to Hyrule, but darkness enfolds his heart like a shroud.

One night the queen, who had never so much as touched his face with her long and graceful fingers, came to him in the moonlight. She begged for a child, weeping all the while. After so many years of following along behind her like a dog he could not do as she asked; there was no spark of intimacy between them, and it was impossible.

And so she drugged him and took what she wanted.

He was unaware of this until her pregnancy was announced. He jumped to the natural conclusion a man might come to in this situation, but when Zelda was born he could not deny that she was his own. He hated his wife, yet he still loved her in his sad and patient way, even then. He grew attached to the child as he had never allowed himself to grow close to anyone else the castle, and so he was the first person to understand that the girl was different, and powerful.

He demanded an explanation, and the queen obliged, finally. If Ganon had returned to the world, she told him, then there must be a Zelda, and she must be a trueborn daughter of the royal line. She told him about the Triforce, and about the terrible enemies that would seek to claim it. Armies could be amassed, but they would all be consumed by flames; the only defense the kingdom had was the princess and her chosen knight. Hyrule had been cursed by a primordial demon, and only Hylia's heir was its equal. If Zelda couldn't seal this evil, then no one could.

Daphnes was the second son of a minor aristocrat who governed a small stretch of coastline in Faron province, and he loved nothing more than the sun on his face and the wind in his hair. He knew nothing about gods and demons and curses, but he would do anything to protect his daughter.

"Kill the Gerudo prince," he told the queen, and instead of objecting she had grown thoughtful. Later she came to him in the night, and for the first time he embraced her as her husband. The next day she left for the desert, and a week later she was dead.

Daphnes was not a vain or a foolish man, but he knew the queen had selected him as her consort because of the cast of his face. He had the outward seeming of a king, and suddenly he was forced to become one. To his surprise, he was good at it, and he allowed the work to consume him and shape his character. If there were gods and monsters in Hyrule, he had no problem with them as long as they paid taxes and settled their disputes in court. Despite the tragedy lingering over the untimely death of the queen, it seemed as if his reign was blessed with peace and prosperity.

When his Sheikah advisors reported to him that the Darknuts had started meeting in secret under the cover of darkness, he thought nothing of it. Better to allow them to dream of rebellion than to imprison anyone without cause. When the urban gentry complained that Moblins had begun to congregate in growing settlements outside the city walls, he permitted it. Castle Town was growing, after all, and the Moblins were hard workers who didn't demand high wages. In fairy tales it is said that Hylian ears are long so that they can catch the whispers of the gods, but Daphnes had no use for old legends or divine revelations.

All of that changed when Ganondorf came to Hyrule Castle.

Other people may wonder, in retrospect, what moment led to the calamity that resulted in the end of an era, but Daphnes knows, and he hates himself for knowing.


	23. A Daring Rescue

Zelda watched Ganondorf from the shadows outside his cell. He sat cross-legged on the rough bunk hanging from the wall, his shoulders rising and falling with deep, even breaths. His face was peaceful, but Zelda could tell he wasn't sleeping.

She was nervous about approaching him, unsure of whether he was aware someone was watching. She'd wanted to come for him earlier, but Hyrule Castle was under siege. It was only when she had staged a bout of faintness that her secretary insisted that she retire for the night, and she accepted the offer with dignity and grace. She knew Impa wasn't fooled, but she would deal with that problem when it arose.

Once again she had disguised herself as Impaz, Impa's trusted apprentice. If anyone tried to halt her, she could claim that she had every right to patrol the dungeon, but she preferred to remain unseen. Strangely, however, her abilities were not tested, as no guards were stationed in the underground passages deep under the castle. She trusted the intelligence she received from the guard captain who had reported that this was where Ganondorf was being held, but it took her more than an hour to find him in the labyrinthine dungeon.

At a certain point she almost gave up, rationalizing that it would be insane for the king to give an order for a visiting dignitary to be confined in the oldest, most isolated, and most deliberately uncomfortable part of the castle. The dungeon was no longer used for its original purpose, and it was rumored to be haunted. Zelda had seen things in the shadows of the unused branches of these stone passages during her training excursions with Impa, and she happened to know that the rumors were true.

Still, even in the thick gloom lit only by the low flame of a blue-burning torch set into the mold-covered stones, Ganondorf seemed completely at ease. If he wouldn't move, then she would have to.

Zelda approached the cell. Her footsteps were silent, and the noise of her movements was muted by the special Sheikah cloth she wore. If she could manage it, she wanted the element of surprise on her side.

"I was wondering when you'd come," Ganondorf said, not opening his eyes.

Zelda shivered slightly but didn't respond, and the silence hung heavy between them. Ganondorf finally turned to face her. His eyes seemed to glow in the dim light. "So the princess ventures deep into the dungeon to rescue the imprisoned monster. I haven't heard that one before," he remarked.

Zelda grimaced. "How did you know it was me?"

"I can smell you."

"That's a hideous thing to say."

"It's your perfume. You smell like gardenias."

Zelda frowned and removed a pin from a small pouch concealed in a fold of cloth at her waist. "I'm going to pick the lock," she announced. "It's old, and this shouldn't take long."

"Have you given any thought to what you're going to do once I'm free?" Ganondorf asked, uncrossing his legs and rising to his feet.

"We'll worry about that once you're out of this cell," Zelda responded. She fit the pin into the lock as Ganondorf walked to the other side of the door.

"Getting out was never the problem," he said in a self-satisfied tone. He pressed his fingertips to the iron bars and muttered something under his breath. An instant later the door dissolved in a dull flash of magenta that was somehow not light, almost like the not-light of the Twilight Realm. Zelda was left awkwardly holding a pin up to thin air. There was nothing separating her and Ganondorf, and she took a step back.

"I'm not wearing perfume," she said, hoping to use the non sequitur to disguise her momentary disorientation over the sudden change in circumstances.

Ganondorf reached up to touch her face. He stroked her exposed cheekbone with his thumb before reaching for her braid, which he weighed in his palm. "It's in your hair, then," he murmured. "And it's not as if I wouldn't recognize this shade of gold anywhere."

Zelda turned her face slightly, touching her nose to the thin skin on the underside of Ganondorf's wrist. She wasn't wearing any scent, but he was. He didn't smell like someone who had spent the past night and day in a dungeon.

"If you could have left, why didn't you?" she asked.

"I came to Hyrule for one thing, and I'm closer now than I've ever been. Why would I leave?"

"I thought you came to Hyrule to avoid having children."

"No, you assumed I came to Hyrule to visit you."

"How presumptuous of you to claim that you understand what I'm thinking."

"I can't claim to understand what you're thinking, but I had a hunch you would come down here to find me. Either to save me or to kill me, I still haven't decided which."

Zelda smirked. "I haven't decided either."

Ganondorf ran his palm across her cheek, gently pulling down the cloth covering her face. He lowered his hand to her neck and pulled her forward. "I wonder if anyone else knows how dangerous you are," he whispered into her ear.

"You don't smell like you've been in this cell for the past twenty-four hours," Zelda muttered. "You left, didn't you?" She calmed her mind, attempted to summon what little magic she remembered how to use, and touched the shoulder of Ganondorf's tunic. The fabric shimmered under her fingertips like the skim of oil on water. As she suspected, he had applied some sort of glamour, most likely because he no longer had on the same clothing he had worn when he was arrested.

"Where did you go?" she asked. She took a deep breath and realized that, mixed with the familiar smell of Ganondorf's hair and skin, there was a faint odor of pine chips and anise. It didn't take her long to recognize the distinctive scent. "You were at Telma's Bar, weren't you?"

"I was." Ganondorf nodded as he pulled away from her. "I had to contact Nabooru. I also had to take a bath and get out of that disgusting Hylian costume." The fabric of his clothing shimmered again, and his tunic and trousers were replaced by loose and flowing robes covered in intricate embroidery stitched with golden thread. Instead of the simple circlet he had worn at court, his hair was pulled back by an ornate crown.

Zelda stepped back to look at him. He was handsome, to be sure, and he was certainly majestic in his finery, but something about his outfit bothered Zelda. Why had he dressed himself like a Gerudo king now of all times, and why had he bothered to hide his regalia under a glamour?

"If you left," she asked, frowning, "then why did you come back to this cell? You said that you're close to something. What do you mean? What are you looking for? Is it something that's supposed to be hidden somewhere in the castle, or were you speaking metaphorically? I assume you caught wind of the riots in Castle Town while you were at Telma's. Did you have something to do with that?"

"Why would I have anything to do with the riots? You of all people know better than anyone what I've been doing at night."

"No, I don't, actually. And you should know that's what people in the castle have been saying, that you instigated the disturbances. The Darknuts and Moblins have been chanting something that sounds suspiciously like 'Ganon,' and…" Zelda cleared her throat. She was uncomfortable with what she was about to say, but she said it anyway. "And maybe this wouldn't be the first time in the history of Hyrule that you've led a rebellion against my family."

Ganondorf's face hardened. "If you don't trust me, then why should I tell you anything?"

"I said I would help you, didn't I? And I will. If it means anything to you, I don't think you started the riots, at least not intentionally. But who knows where you've been going or what you've been doing during the past two weeks. Don't think I don't know about Jabun and the Deku Tree. And I don't know what you did to provoke the creatures on Death Mountain into attacking the Gorons, but Darunia's son is _dying_ , Ganondorf. If what you're looking for is important enough to get people killed, then I want to know what you're planning before I commit to whatever nasty business you've gotten yourself involved in."

"I haven't killed anyone," Ganondorf responded in a flat voice.

"You haven't killed anyone _yet_."

Ganondorf narrowed his eyes. "This is far more complicated than you realize."

"Then explain it to me," Zelda said through gritted teeth. Even though the narrow corridor outside the row of cells was as deserted as a graveyard at midnight, this wasn't the ideal location to have a conversation, especially not a conversation like this. Still, Zelda had to admit that there were benefits to being close to Ganondorf in a place where no one would think to look for them, and despite her better judgment she made no move to step aside so that he could leave the cell.

"I'm waiting for Nabooru," Ganondorf admitted. "I'll let her explain what's going on. She probably knows more than I do. She's also better at explaining it, and…"

He stopped speaking, and a strange expression crossed his face as he shifted his eyes away from her. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he muttered.

Zelda realized that she had been staring at him. "I've never seen anything like those clothes you have on, and you look good in them," she said, chuckling to mask her embarrassment. "And there's something about being in a dungeon that makes me want to put you in chains, if you know what I mean."

It was obviously a joke, but Ganondorf's eyes widened as color rose to his face.

Zelda found that she liked throwing him off his guard, so she continued to tease him. "If what you want is to kidnap the princess, then I'm right here. I didn't know you were into that sort of thing, but I can see the appeal." She laughed again, amused at his discomfort. "And I wouldn't mind being kidnapped, to be honest."

Finally Ganondorf cracked a smile, which illuminated his face briefly before fading.

"I want the Triforce," he said simply.

"Is that it?"

"What do you mean, 'Is that it?'"

Zelda shook her head. "All you want is the power of the goddesses and the ability to reshape reality? That sounds reasonable." She felt her own smile fading as she considered the situation. "I wouldn't mind a bit of that myself," she added, understanding that these words were true as soon as she spoke them. Her vision had given her a taste of what it meant to wield divine power, and she couldn't deny that she was tempted. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"You won't try to stop me?"

"I don't think I'd be able to stop you even if I wanted to," she admitted, "but it's easier to go along with you just to prove that no such thing exists. Even if Hylia is real, or _was_ real, or whatever, the Triforce is just a myth. Or something like a symbol. I mean, it couldn't _possibly_ be real. The goddesses may not have created a perfect world, blessed be their names, but they wouldn't leave something like that just lying around. Imagine how much trouble it would cause…"

"It's real enough, and you've seen the trouble it's caused with your own eyes," Ganondorf objected. "No matter how skilled and talented someone might be, no single person could create something like the Twilight Realm with their power alone. You've been there, and you've seen what it is. Zelda, it's _an entire dimension_ that was created by isolating a stream in the flow of time. Nothing less than the Triforce could do that. It's like your ocarina but infinitely more powerful. Even if it's not a set of golden triangles like the one on your family crest, there's some sort of object in this castle that your family has kept hidden for generations."

Ganondorf rubbed the hair of the beard on his chin, making Zelda wonder if he was growing it for the first time or if he only went clean-shaven while he was in Hyrule. He seemed like he wanted to say something else, so she watched him and waited.

"I don't know anything about what the Gerudo men in our visions wanted, or what they intended to do," he continued eventually. "They may have wanted the Triforce for themselves, or they may have been trying to remove it from the hands of the royal family. If something like the Twilight Realm exists, then the Triforce would must been used as a weapon, probably more than once. But if the castle standing over that ancient tower was real, then it was an incredible source of energy as well. Imagine what you could do, with that sort of power."

As Ganondorf spoke, his eyes never left Zelda's face. It seemed to be important to him that she understood what he was suggesting, and she did understand. If the Triforce was indeed real, a possibility that she could no longer discount, then her ancestors must indeed have used it as a weapon, and in the back of her mind she had a nagging suspicion that this weapon must have once been Hylia's to wield as she saw fit. What, then, would have caused the goddess to forsake her claim on it, presumably along with her divinity? Why hadn't she seen _that_ in any of her visions? Or was this something her mother would have told her when she was older? Perhaps old enough to understand why the earth god had looked at the sky goddess with such longing?

Here in this mold-reeking dungeon rotting in its own darkness, deep within the bone-choked ground under a castle whose stones were coated with the blood spilt in various wars, Zelda decided that she had had enough of myths and legends. More than anything, she wanted to know the truth, and in this her goals aligned perfectly with Ganondorf's.

 _May the goddess grant me wisdom_ , Zelda prayed silently, and then she spoke.

"As Hylia's descendent, I've been told that my virtue is wisdom. But you know, I've always been attracted to power. There's an old underground temple sacred to the Sheikah that we can reach if we follow the waterways connected to this dungeon. If your precious Triforce is real, then it's probably there. I can't make any promises about what I'll do if it is, but I'd like to see it with my own eyes. If Nabooru hasn't shown up by now, she probably isn't going to. This place gives me the creeps, and I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to. Let's get going. Might as well have a grand adventure and uncover the mysteries of Hyrule while I'm still a princess, right?"

Zelda grinned and reached for Ganondorf, intending to give him a light punch on the shoulder, but before she knew it he had grabbed her and pressed his mouth to hers. He wrapped his arms around her, strong and unyielding. There was something intensely possessive about the way he kissed and held her, as if he were attempting to dominate her with his body. She decided to let him have his way, allowing herself to relax as she opened her mouth to his.

She stood on her toes to get closer to him, and as she leaned forward she stumbled slightly. He tightened his grip and then picked her up, lifting her so that her face was above his. She smiled down at him before wrapping her legs around his waist and kissing him again. He stepped to the side and turned so that they were both leaning against the wall. The fabric of the Sheikah garb she wore was thin, and she could feel the rough texture of the stone on her back. She could also feel the heat of Ganondorf's body, so close that it was almost on her skin.

As he kissed her he lightly bit her bottom lip. She gasped with pleasure and pressed her body against his. It was not a decision she made, but a movement that was so natural it felt like an irresistible instinct. He grabbed her ass and forced her even closer, grinding her against the stiff length at his waist. It was impossible that he could have gotten so hard so quickly, but his arousal was so strong that she could feel the heatbeat of his cock on the skin between her legs. Zelda was overwhelmed with a flood of sensation, and for a moment she forgot herself, who she was and who she was with and where they were; there was nothing but Ganondorf's tongue and his teeth and his hands and his fingers and his cock that jutted against her in just the right place.

 _What in Hylia's name do you think you're doing_ , a bitterly cold voice blew through her mind.

Startled, Zelda returned to her senses. She gasped in shock at the strange voice in her head, and her entire body tensed. Ganondorf responded immediately. "Are you okay?" he asked.

A moment later footsteps echoed on the floor outside the cell. Ganondorf sighed and bowed his head, touching the cool gem set into the crown of his forehead against her feverishly hot skin. "Great time for her to show up," he muttered, supporting Zelda as she lowered her legs and regained her feet.

"Oh my! It looks like my bratty little cousin has finally grown up."

"Nabooru! How kind of you to join us." Ganondorf called out over his shoulder.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he whispered once again to Zelda. She nodded, and he raised his arm and turned a bit to the side, allowing her to slip past him and walk into the corridor. He remained behind, still facing the wall. The awkwardness of his position gave Zelda a perverse sense of satisfaction; it pleased her to know what effect she had on him.

Outside the cell, Nabooru stood with a spear in one hand and her other hand on her hip, tall and svelte and beautiful. To Zelda's astonishment, Impa was right beside her, wielding a short sword with jagged edges that emitted an eerie blue glow.

"I'm not sure who needs to be rescued here, but we came to rescue _someone_ ," Impa remarked. "Should we get on with it, or do you want us to leave you to your business?"

"Why anyone would want to spend more time than necessary in such a nasty place is beyond me," Nabooru cut in. "The people who built this castle must have had some weird hobbies."

"You can say that again," Impa agreed, laughing. "And it's not like we were eavesdropping or anything, but I thought I heard someone say something about a temple sacred to the Sheikah."

"And I thought I heard someone say something about the Triforce," Nabooru added. "As it turns out, I happen to be headed that way myself."

"You _what_?" Zelda asked, immediately on guard.

"Calm down, little dragonfly," Nabooru responded with a grin. "And you there," she spoke up, addressing Ganondorf, "get yourself under control, because we need to get moving. And I mean _right now_ , before it's too late."

"Before what's too late for what? What's going on?" Zelda asked, glancing from Nabooru to Impa.

"Your father's gotten involved," Impa answered.

Zelda stared at her incredulously, not understanding what she meant. What did the king have to do with any of this?

"Come on now, let's get going," Nabooru said, clapping her hands briskly. "We'll have to explain on the way. My idiot cousin here isn't the only person looking for the Triforce, and we don't have a second to lose."


	24. Rivers Running Underground

When Zelda stepped into the corridor to join Impa, the first thing she noticed was a fervid magenta light approaching rapidly from the opposite direction.

Nabooru noticed it as well. "Get back!" she commanded, thrusting her spear in front of her.

Ganondorf grabbed Zelda's arm and pulled her toward him just as a blazing golden comet of flame jetted from the outstretched line of Nabooru's spear. A second later there was a high-pitched wail and the sound of glass shattering.

"It must have been a poe," Ganondorf whispered into Zelda's ear. "I've seen them going back and forth along the corridor while I've been down here. They infest the ruins in the desert too."

Zelda had dealt with her fair share of poes, and she didn't need Ganondorf to explain this to her. In that moment he was the last thing on her mind.

"That was amazing!" she exclaimed.

Nabooru winked at her. "Telma's not around to tell me not to use magic."

"I've never seen anything like that," Zelda continued, thoroughly impressed. "Do you think you could teach me how to use magic?"

"And while you're at it, teach me too," Impa joined in, laughing.

"If you're going to show off your tricks, why did you even bother bringing a spear?" Ganondorf grumbled as he emerged into the corridor behind them.

"She needs it," Zelda and Impa said at the same time, sharing a look. After all, there were far worse things than ghosts in these underground passageways.

"Right," Nabooru said, tapping the blunt end of her spear against the stone floor. "Let's get a move on. You two stay behind us. Cover us if you can, but let us do the heavy fighting if we encounter anything nasty. Your battle is still ahead of you."

"Speaking of which," Impa added, "you're not doing to get anywhere with those daggers, dear apprentice of mine." She removed a short reflex bow and a quiver of arrows from the small arsenal strapped to her back and handed them to Zelda.

"You knew I would come here," Zelda said softly to Impa as she took the bow.

Impa only smiled in response, but Zelda could see the glint of excitement in her eyes. Despite her sense of foreboding, she understood Impa's mood perfectly. She had always enjoyed training with Impa in the northern forest, and in the caverns in nearby Kakariko Village, and even in the more neglected corners of the castle dungeon. Zelda knew that she would never be a real warrior, at least not in the same way Impa was, but she still enjoyed the dynamic tension of a bow in her hand and the sharp assurance of an arrow between her fingers. Her earlier trepidation concerning how to handle Ganondorf had vanished, and it pleased her that he would be able to see what she could do with a proper set of weapons. She hoped he would keep her prowess in mind when – _if_ – they found the Triforce.

If Zelda's suspicions were correct, then they were headed for the Temple of Time on the edge of the woods to the north of the castle. Although she knew that the abandoned temple was connected to the castle grounds through the underground waterways, she didn't know the exact route to get there. Impa did, however, and Zelda was a little jealous of her, as she always had been. She wished, not for the first time, that someone else could be a princess so that she could join the Sheikah. If her parents had other children, or if there had been a more suitable candidate for the throne of Hyrule, then she might have had that option. But no, her mother and Ganondorf's mother had made some sort of pact, and in any case it was the royal family's custom that there could only be one Zelda every few generations. She sympathized with Ganondorf, truly she did – it wasn't easy to be bound to one's fate from the very moment of one's birth.

The small party set off with Impa in the lead. Nabooru and Zelda followed her closely, their weapons at the ready. Ganondorf lagged behind, still unarmed. Zelda was annoyed with his apparent nonchalance at first, but gradually she realized that he was concentrating deeply on the path that Impa was navigating. Every so often he would touch the tips of his fingers to the stones of the wall, whisper something unintelligible, and send out a pulse of magic that she could feel on her skin.

Zelda tried to keep track of the twists and turns of their route, but eventually she lost count and simply followed Impa, figuring that it would be more useful if she kept an eye out for any of the various creatures that lived and hunted and ate in the darkness. After a while the moldy air of the stone passages began to grow fresher and was replaced by the slightly alkaline smell of running water. Before long Zelda could hear the sound of the water rushing through the tunnels ahead of them, and after Impa unlocked a series of rusty iron gates with a mere touch of her hands they were in the castle sewers.

"Be on your guard," Impa said in a muted voice. "The path we've taken has been safe so far, but there are no Sheikah wards to protect us here. I hope we won't run into anything too dangerous, but it's probably going to get messy at some point."

"That's what I'm here for," Nabooru replied, patting Impa on the shoulder.

Impa nodded in response. "We need to move quickly. The longer we linger, the more likely something unpleasant will notice us."

Unlike the bare walls and floors of the dungeon corridors, the sewers were clogged with hanging strands of gray moss and the dangling tips of pale and unhealthy roots. Rats as big as dogs skittered across the slippery walkways, and keese with viciously sharp teeth swooped down at them from the ceiling. As she promised, Nabooru made proficient use of her spear, and Impa struck anything that came close to her with the glowing blade she held in her hand like a torch. Zelda conserved her energy and arrows, keenly aware that her arsenal was limited.

Ganondorf focused his attention behind them, presumably to ensure that they weren't blindsided by an attack from the rear, and it was he who saw the skulltulas first.

"My dear cousin," he said in Gerudo, the resonant tones of his voice echoing through the vaulted stone corridors, "I do believe this Sheikah friend of yours has led us directly into a den of monsters. If you would be so kind as to look up, you'll witness something quite disturbing. But no sudden movements, if you please."

Zelda was so amazed by the cultured politesse of Ganondorf's language that it took her a moment to process his words and do as he suggested. As soon as she looked above her, she wished she hadn't. Hundreds of beady red eyes formed pinpricks of light in the shadowy mass of webbing attached to the ceiling. Nothing moved until a skulltula plopped to the ground in front of them with a sickeningly heavy thud. It was young, only as wide around as a paving stone, but it demonstrated no signs of fear, only looking at them with its eight horrible eyes.

"Well, cousin," Nabooru muttered, "I would never claim that you're one for theatrics, but if you wanted to show off for the princess then now's the time."

Ganondorf clicked his tongue in annoyance, a sound that was swiftly followed by a terrible rustling above their heads.

"To me!" he shouted, and Nabooru dashed toward him. Impa followed suit, grabbing Zelda and dragging her along so that they were all pressed against Ganondorf.

"Shut your eyes," he commanded. Zelda did so, and a split second later her ears were filled with the roar of an incredible rush of wind. The air crackled and buzzed with magic, and Zelda squinted her eyes open enough to see that they were surrounded by a tempest of flames. The inferno was so bright that she once again screwed her eyes tightly shut.

After perhaps half a minute, Impa loosened her grip on Zelda's arm, and she opened her eyes. It took her vision a moment to clear, but there were no skulltulas to be seen, nor any of their webs. There was, however, a peculiar odor.

"Did you really have to vaporize the sewer water?" Nabooru said to Ganondorf, waving her hand in front of her nose.

"How about that," Impa remarked, whistling in admiration. "I'm impressed. Is everyone from that desert of yours some sort of wizard?"

"Oh goodness no," Nabooru responded, laughing as she began following Impa, who once again took the lead. "A few of our elders specialize in that sort of thing, and some of us take a class or two during basic training, but this one is special. He always had his head in the books when he was a kid, and then he got into the habit of exploring ruins. He calls this spell 'Din's Fire,' and he claims he learned it from a fairy in some sort of secret fountain out in the sand wastes."

"So the Great Fairies are real, then?" Impa interjected, turning to face Ganondorf. "You lucky bastard! I'd love to meet one myself."

Ganondorf merely grunted in response, and Impa shrugged and continued on her way.

Zelda did her best to keep walking, putting one foot in front of the other, but her earlier sense of going on a grand adventure had vanished. Ganondorf's casual display of such powerful destructive magic filled her with dread. It had been difficult – almost impossible – for her to reconcile the warlords she saw in her visions with the Ganondorf she had once played with as a child, but it had finally come home to her that this man was capable of hideous acts of violence. Scenes from her visions looped through her mind: the enemy general decimating the soldiers at the front gate of Hyrule Castle, the warlock king striking a burning tower as tall as the heavens with a jagged streak of lightning, the demonic face of the young prince after the Gerudo camp was attacked, the black-scaled deity looking down on a decimated kingdom with its callous golden eyes. Even if their cause was just – no, _especially_ if their cause was just – the ends these men used to justify their means were unspeakable.

When Zelda told Ganondorf that she still hadn't decided whether to save him or to kill him when she came to him in the dungeon, she wasn't being facetious. She owed it to herself and her kingdom to find out what he truly wanted, but she could not afford to spare him if he did become a monster – if he did become the "Ganon" whose name was being chanted by roving mobs in the streets high above their heads. She had not seen any of the princesses in her visions kill the men who had become their nemeses, but of course they had. She did not want to kill Ganondorf, the man she had danced with in the sky above a crumbling castle that not even the stars could see, but of course she would.

 _May the goddess grant me wisdom_ , she prayed, hoping against hope that she could find another way.

The quartet continued on without further incident. The line of Impa's mouth grew thinner as her facial features solidified into a stony blankness. It was clear to Zelda that something was bothering her.

"It's been a while since we passed the skulltula nest," Nabooru remarked, apparently picking up on Impa's shift in mood, "but I haven't seen so much as a single keese since then. Did those spiders manage to eat everything down here?"

Impa didn't answer, but she quickened her pace. They all followed her in silence.

There was no sound aside from the flow of water churning alongside the raised walkways, but Zelda gradually became aware of a quiet but discordant noise.

"Impa…?" she whispered, wondering if she were the only one who heard it.

"We're very close" was Impa's curt reply. "But we need to move quickly."

They passed through a tunnel with a low overhang and into a chamber so vast that its dimensions were lost in shadow. Perhaps it might once have been used as a reservoir, but its uneven floor was dry and dusty. Zelda couldn't see far into the darkness, but the odd sound had grown louder.

"Okay, we need to stop now," Nabooru announced, plunking the end of her spear onto the floor. "I can hear something out there, and it's giving me the creeps. I have a bad feeling about this. Is there another way we can go?"

"I think… I think we better," Impa muttered. Zelda was shocked by the sudden uncertainty in Impa's voice, and she immediately realized what they had inadvertently wandered into. The underground passageways they had been traversing eventually connected to the temple in the forest, but along the way they passed under the castle graveyard. Zelda strongly suspected that they had found themselves in something far more disturbing than an empty reservoir.

"It might be too late to return the way we came," Ganondorf said. He raised his hand and sent a glowing ball of light upwards, illuminating the chamber and revealing that they were surrounded by hideous creatures that had once been human but were now nothing of the sort. The broken figures shambled toward them, blocking the way forward – and the way back.

To her credit, Nabooru didn't panic. "What are these things?" she asked Impa. "And, more importantly, how to we get rid of them?"

Impa shook her head in response as she scanned the room. Zelda could tell that she was searching for grappling targets, but the ceiling was much too high.

Not wanting to interrupt whatever plan Impa might be in the process of forming, Zelda answered Nabooru's question. "We call these things ReDeads, and we can't kill them. They're already dead, or… or something like it."

"Is it possible to hold them off?" Nabooru asked.

"I'm not sure," Zelda replied. "I've never fought one. They don't respond to being attacked. It's easy enough to avoid them, but I've never seen more than one or two at a time. They're generally guarding something, and it's best just to leave them to it. They're usually not so aggressive, unless…" Zelda realized that she was rambling, and she shut her mouth abruptly. Nothing she was saying was helping. The only thing she could do was to fit an arrow to the string of her bow and hope that she would be able to momentarily slow down any of the creatures that came too close.

"All right, so physical attacks won't work," Nabooru responded calmly. "How about fire? Din knows we have enough of that to go around."

"That won't stop them," Ganondorf muttered.

"What?" Zelda turned to him. How would he know?

"We don't actually need to fight them," Ganondorf continued. "They're animated by Sheikah magic, so we can use Sheikah magic to command them."

He glanced at Impa. "By your leave," he said. She responded with a look of horror.

This didn't seem to bother Ganondorf. He began chanting in an oddly accented language that Zelda had never heard before. The curiously asymmetric structure of its tones bothered her, and she thought to herself that she would prefer never to hear it again. As Ganondorf's words rang out through the vast room, the creeping monstrosities stopped in their tracks and began to sway in time to the irregular rhythm of the cadence of his voice. Zelda was shocked when it occurred to her that they were actually listening to him, something that she didn't think was possible with these creatures. It chilled her to her core to realize that they still possessed some semblance of consciousness and will, and that they were capable of more than mindlessly crouching and lunging at anything that made the mistake of crossing the lines of the spellwork that bound them.

Nabooru and Impa watched Ganondorf with identical expressions of disgust. Zelda had no idea what they were thinking, but she was filled with terror. It was bad enough that Ganondorf knew it was possible to communicate with the undead, and it was worse that he had not only learned how this was done but was apparently skilled at doing so. And yet Zelda wasn't surprised; she felt as if she had known this all along somewhere in the farthest recesses of her mind. A warlord needs an army, after all, but there were never enough Darknuts or Moblins or even Gerudo to attack Hyrule, not even if they combined their forces. Was this what "Ganon" was, the legendary Demon King? Could he truly control creatures like this? Could he force them to do his bidding? Is that what made him such an object of fear and hatred?

To Zelda, however, the most troubling realization was that Ganondorf was using Sheikah magic, and he was proficient at a level far above anything Impa could command. He clearly knew Sheikah herbal lore as well, so he must have known that it was the Sheikah who created ReDeads, normal humans who were tortured to the point of mindless madness but denied the release of death, forever cursed to guard the tombs and secrets of the royal family. The ReDeads, as awful as they were, were bound to Zelda just as the Sheikah themselves were. Impa had taught Zelda, deep in the training grounds underneath the Sheikah village of Kakariko, that one day she would inherit this legacy of darkness. It was something she didn't like to think about, something she wished she could dissociate herself from. One day, when she was queen, she would do away with these sorts of foul practices, she told herself, even as she knew that it would become her job as a monarch to use any means at her disposal to maintain the peace of the world above this subterranean nightmare. After all, the dead had never rested easy in Hyrule, and the good of the many far outweighed the fate of a few unlucky souls.

Zelda hated this aspect of the monarchy and was grateful for the services of the Sheikah, who shielded the light of the royal family from the shadows of their kingdom, but Ganondorf had known about this darkness all along. How many of the unsavory secrets of the queens and kings of Hyrule did he know? What had he learned in the ruins of the temples and factories and castles and prisons that her ancestors had abandoned? What did he know that she didn't?

Zelda was paralyzed by loathing – loathing of the ReDeads that swayed in place according to a hellish rhythm but did not retreat, loathing of Ganondorf who felt no shame at exerting his will over them, and loathing of herself for her powerlessness. Perhaps she could use her ocarina to amplify the effect of Ganondorf's chanting, but she was so overcome by queasiness and doubt that she could barely bring herself to move.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light in the distance. It was as if someone had uncovered the lens of a gas-powered torch pointed directly at the ceiling. As the beam of light drew closer, the ReDeads shrank away into the shadows at the edges of the chamber, and a hooded figure walked slowly into the void they left, holding a glowing sword aloft.

"Link?" Zelda recognized him immediately, but she couldn't begin to understand why he was here or what he was doing.

"That's right, Princess, it's me," he called out to her from across the expanse of the dirty tiled floor. "Can you get that idiot to shut up? What he's doing isn't the least bit useful, and his voice is bothering me."

Ganondorf scowled but fell silent. His eerie chanting had set Zelda's nerves on edge, and she sighed with relief now that he had finally stopped.

"What is that child doing here?" Nabooru asked Impa. "Does someone want to explain what's going on? Is he really holding what I think he is? Farore save us all."

"I don't believe it," Impa muttered, shaking her head as Link continued to walk toward them, the ReDeads cowering away from him. "He's done it. He's drawn the Master Sword."

Zelda glanced at Ganondorf, but his expression was unreadable. The light he had cast was fading, and his face was obscured by the sharp shadows thrown by the bright illumination of Link's sword. Zelda was well aware that Ganondorf was the most dangerous thing in this room, and she didn't want to turn her back on him. Still, the best way to extricate all of them from the tension of this situation was to get Link talking. Once they'd all gotten it through their heads that no one was in any immediate danger, then hopefully they could get out of this crypt.

Zelda marched straight to Link, ignoring the dry shuffling and mulchy odor to either side of her, and pointed her finger at him, still holding an arrow in her fist.

"What in the blessed name of Hylia are _you_ doing here?"

"Is this not a reasonable place to take an evening stroll?" Link asked in return.

"Well, it sure does look like everyone's doing it, doesn't it?" Zelda countered, annoyed at his levity. "You, me, two trained assassins, the man who's supposed to destroy Hyrule, and several dozen of the walking dead. Is this some kind of surprise party for my coronation? Because I for one am not enjoying myself."

"Zelda, listen… " Link made a pained face and an awkward gesture.

This only added to Zelda's aggravation. "That's right, Link, I'm listening, so you better start explaining, _right now_."

"I was sent here," Link responded.

"To save us?"

"Saving you was a happy accident, if you can call any sort of encounter with these things happy. What I meant is that I was sent to guard the entrance to the Temple of Time."

"To guard it against monsters."

"Well, no… Not precisely. I was told to stop anyone who tried to approach the temple through the underground passageways."

"Specifically me," Ganondorf interjected, pushing his way forward.

"Specifically you." Link nodded.

"Is that the Master Sword, then?" Ganondorf asked, not wasting words.

"You look different," Link said, not meeting his eyes. "Is it the beard? It must be the beard."

"Do you understand what you've done by drawing that sword?" Ganondorf growled.

"Don't act like you're not involved in this," Link responded, losing his temper. "I just did what I was ordered to do, and those orders wouldn't have been necessary if it weren't for you."

Ganondorf tensed, startling Zelda. She put a hand on his arm, hoping to calm him.

"Some hero you are," Ganondorf muttered in a voice so low that only Zelda could hear it.

"I don't care what my father ordered you to do," Zelda said, raising her own voice so that it echoed across the chamber. In the brief silence that followed, she could hear the choked groaning of the ReDeads lurking in the shadows. She raised her chin, squared her shoulders, and met Link's eyes with a fierce gaze. "I am Princess Zelda, Hylia's descendant, and I am going to the Temple of Time. This man is coming with me, and you are going to escort us there. Do I make myself clear?"

Link grimaced, but he nodded.

Zelda turned to Impa and Nabooru. "You've both done well to bring me this far, but you don't need to go any farther. I absolve you from all responsibility for what happens next. Go back to the castle. I'm sure there are people there who are going to need your skills before the sun rises."

Impa shook her head. "I wish we could, Princess, but we can't. It's started. The sword has been drawn, and the cycle has begun. None of us can go back now."

Zelda had never seen Impa look so defeated, and Nabooru hung her head at her friend's side. What Zelda felt at that moment was not courage, and it certainly wasn't wisdom. She'd gotten caught up in something that she seemed to have no control over, and it made her furious. She glanced at Ganondorf and saw her own anger and frustration reflected in his eyes. A moment of understanding passed between them, and that's when she found what she was looking for – power.

She faced Link once again, her eyes blazing. "War is breaking out on the eve of my coronation, and I am _not_ wasting another second standing around chatting in the sewer under a graveyard. If we can't go back, we can only go forward. Take us to the Temple of Time, now."


	25. The Power of the Gods

They didn't talk much as Link guided them to the Temple of Time. They called out to one another once or twice to ensure that their party remained intact in the darkness, but there was little left for any of them to say.

Nothing in the underground catacombs dared approach the brilliantly gleaming light of the Master Sword, and they made good progress. Before long the narrow corridors of the crypts gave way to wider halls and larger rooms that seemed more appropriate to a place of worship. Perhaps this part of the complex had been used as the living quarters of an order of monks or as temporary lodgings for pilgrims. The state of the building they navigated was decrepit, but Zelda could tell from the and scale and flourishes of the architecture that this place must have once been magnificent. Judging from the arches in the walls, which were choked with soil and roots and rubble, the structure more than likely used to be above ground. Zelda wondered what had caused this temple to be buried and why it had been abandoned. She was sure there was a story behind it – another legend, another princess, another hero, another demon.

Zelda resolved that, if she came through this awful night in one piece, then she would make it her first order of business as queen to launch an archeological investigation of the site. And she knew two people who, between their curiosity and knowledge and adventuring skills, would be brilliantly suited to lead the excavation – if they didn't kill each other in the immediate future, of course. Zelda smiled bitterly to herself as she followed the light of Link's sword, with Ganondorf only a step or two behind her. She briefly allowed herself to indulge in a fantasy of a peaceful future, but she knew as well as she knew her own name that the challenge that lay directly in front of her would not be so easily resolved.

After ascending a series of grand but dangerously unstable staircases, they finally reached the surface, emerging one by one from a building situated to the side of the Temple of Time. The structure housing the entrance to the underground complex was quite large, but it was dwarfed by the size of the main temple, ruined though it was. The massive trunks of ancient trees surrounded them, but the imposing outer walls of the temple must have once been larger than even the highest of their branches. The years and the elements had taken their toll, however, and most of the temple's roof had caved in, as had a significant portion of its exterior walls.

There was no guardian at the gate, no magic barrier, no wall of thorns. In fact, there was nothing to prevent them from simply walking inside as they pleased.

"We may as well go through the front door, then," Zelda muttered to herself.

She glanced back at Ganondorf, and the expression on his face disturbed her. In the bright moonlight, she could see every line on his skin and every twist at the corner of his eyes. He was so tense that he practically sparked with electricity, making her think of her of a sky full of clouds that could erupt into a storm at any moment. She knew that he expected to fight, but she realized that what he was attempting to contain within himself was not merely rage, but also elation – he _wanted_ to fight. Hylia save them all, he was looking forward to this.

Zelda had never known what Ganondorf was thinking, not really, and in this moment she understood that she knew him far less well than she thought she did. There were a great many things she wished she could say to him, and there were dozens of questions she wished she had found the courage to ask him earlier, but now it was too late. She would just have to trust him and hope that he trusted her in return.

"After you," Link said, cutting through the tangled gauze of Zelda's thoughts.

Without looking back, Zelda walked forward and passed over the threshold. There were still scattered slabs of marble embedded into the floor of what must have once been the nave of the temple, but they were islands in a green sea of weeds and wildflowers. Thick beds of moss grew from between the cracks that had formed in the walls, which supported vines sprouting broad leaves and small flowers that were so white they seemed to glow in the moonlight. This was a lonely and forgotten place, but it was beautiful.

On the other side of the broad expanse was a raised dais still partially covered with an arched ceiling, which cast a faint shadow onto the platform. Two people stood waiting in the darkness. As Zelda approached she could see that one of them was her father, and Darunia was right behind him. After a few more steps she realized that they weren't alone. Makar stood in front of Darunia, and Ruto was at his side, partially hidden by the king.

They all looked down on Zelda, and she came to a halt, returning their gaze as she confronted them. Impa and Nabooru kept walking past her, joining Daphnes on the dais. They turned and faced her as well, their expressions carefully blank.

Zelda experienced a searing sense of betrayal, but Ganondorf remained at her side. To her surprise, so did Link. Ganondorf slipped his hand over hers, even though she still clutched an arrow in her fingers. After a moment Link reached out to her with his right hand, the Master Sword still in his left. No one spoke, but Ganondorf squeezed her hand as Link laid his fingers against her elbow.

A line had been drawn, then. Zelda didn't know how or why this had happened, but it was up to her to break the stalemate. She was an intruder here, and she had to come up with an explanation for what she was doing.

But no, she realized – she had every right to be here. The Temple of Time had once been sacred to Hylia. As a princess of the royal family, this ground was sacred to her as well. If her father wished to obstruct her passage, then the burden lay on him to explain himself. She looked up at him and waited. With Link and Ganondorf beside her, she felt invincible; she could wait all night.

"Ganon is much worse than you think it is," Daphnes finally said. "Every time it appears, it sets our civilization back decades, sometimes even centuries. Just when Hyrule has started to flourish, it has appeared again, and it must be stopped."

"Father," Zelda responded calmly, "Ganondorf is standing right here. In case you haven't noticed, he's not Ganon, and he's certainly not a 'thing' that has to be stopped. Can't we just talk about this like normal people? Preferably in the morning?"

"I wish that we could." Daphnes sighed. "Did you know, my dear daughter, that the castle's defenses have already fallen?"

"That can't be true!" Zelda objected. "It was just a minor rebellion! There were only a few camps of Moblins outside the city. They can't have made it past the castle walls, that's ridiculous. If this is some sort of bluff, I'm calling you on it."

No one replied to her outburst, and the silence hung heavy in the air.

"His Majesty is telling the truth," Link whispered at her side. "It's true, Zelda. The soldiers are fighting to defend the interior of the castle as we speak."

"It can't be…" Zelda murmured. She had been thoroughly briefed on the situation, and she never would have left her council room if she had any inkling that the riot wouldn't simply fizzle out in the morning. In fact, she and her staff had already prepared a speech in which she would pledge to pardon the offenders and provide reparations to everyone who suffered property damage. She made certain that a final draft had been completed to her satisfaction before she even so much as thought of going after Ganondorf.

A second later, there was a muffled explosion in the distance. Zelda flinched, but she was the only one who did. Embarrassed, she quickly recovered herself.

"So you think that Ganondorf is going to find the Triforce, become Ganon, and do what exactly?"

"As you said yourself," the king replied, gesturing toward Ganondorf, "he's standing right there. Why don't you ask him?"

Zelda glanced up at Ganondorf and saw that his eyes were burning with a ferocious anger. She realized that he was only holding himself back for her sake, so she slipped her hand out of his, wishing him well.

Ganondorf stepped forward. "I, too, wish to destroy Ganon, just as you do, and just as the late queen did before you. I believe you are mistaken about what Ganon is, however. You think Ganon is a monster, a demon that leads other demons. I stand before you not as a demon, but as a man; and as a man I say that Ganon is not a monster. Ganon is a cycle, and Ganon is the system that allows the cycle to perpetuate itself. If the cycle is to be broken, then the system must be dismantled."

"So you admit it, then," Daphnes said, his words suffused with an acidic bitterness that Zelda had not thought he was capable of possessing. "You want to use the Triforce to overthrow the monarchy. When you find it, you will wish to take Hyrule for yourself. But do you truly think that you can use the Triforce to rule this country better than I can? Better than my daughter can?"

"You misunderstand me. I have no wish to rule Hyrule, and even if I did there would be easier ways to go about it. But the monarchy must be dissolved. What sustains it is the same thing that perpetuates the cycle that allows you to retain your hold over your people – and mine, and the people of everyone who stands beside you. The Hylian monarchy created Ganon so that people would know fear, and so they would turn to you for protection."

Darunia began laughing and stepped forward to stand beside Daphnes.

"That's a fine idea, young prince," he said in his booming voice. "It could be that I underestimated you. But I have to tell you – we Gorons can protect ourselves. We've become allies with Hyrule because of our longstanding friendship. As did your people, before the awkward incident with your mother. Do you mean to tell Nabooru here, to her face, that the Gerudo cannot defend themselves? Would you say the same to Ruto? And Makar? And Impa, who could easily cut you down where you stand?"

"Oh, but Impa knows the truth, doesn't she," Ganondorf responded, his voice as smooth as silk. "How long was it ago, perhaps a few hundred years, give or take, that the monarchy almost passed into the hands of the Sheikah? Peacefully, no less. The Sheikah developed advanced technology, after all, and their magic was the envy of everyone in Hyrule. The young queen was surrounded by Sheikah advisors, and her regent even shared the name of our own Impa, didn't she? How convenient that Ganon should appear right at that moment in history, turning the Sheikah's technology against the Hylian monarchy? What happened to those machines, I wonder? And what happened to the Sheikah who built them? How many of them were allowed to remain in the kingdom after that particular incident? Where did they all go?"

Ganondorf smiled and shook his head. "This isn't even ancient history. Perhaps Impa can tell us what happened. Perhaps she can tell us _exactly_ what happened."

Zelda glanced up at Impa, but her friend's gaze was fixed on a vague point in the distance, her lips a straight line carved into a face that may have well have been made of stone. Nabooru was looking away as well. A few hundred years ago… Was that when the Twilight Realm had come into existence?

"And you Gorons," Ganondorf continued, the same horrible smile still on his face, "proud warriors that you are. I'm sure you can defend yourself against any demon foolish enough to challenge you, but can you fight the earth itself? What if Death Mountain were to erupt suddenly, what would you do then? What if, at some point in the past, you were given a sacred jewel, rumored to be created by the goddess Hylia herself, that would calm the volcano? And what if it actually worked? What if all you had to do was promise your friendship to the Hylian monarchy? Your friendship, and a portion of the coal and oil from your mountains?"

"And you, Ruto, I'm surprised at you for going along with this. You know what Jabun is, don't you? You've always known, you've told me as much. As long as you hold the mystical sapphire generously given to you as a gift by the benevolent Hylian queens, Jabun will remain content. There will never be any earthquakes or landslides in your valley, and your mountain spring will never freeze. The Zora could live without these blessings, but why would you give them up? And who would even think to ask where Jabun came from in the first place, or why Hyrule controls the rights to the water that flows from your lakes? Who but a princess who was once severely disciplined by her mother for even daring to suggest that this was unfair?"

An eerie high-pitched noise interrupted Ganondorf, and Makar stepped in front of Daphnes. Zelda realized that he was laughing. It sounded nothing like human laughter.

"You speak pretty words, Gerudo prince," the boy said, his hair and tunic stirring in a breeze that seemed to blow on him alone. "But Darunia's son is dying, as is Jabun, because of curses that you laid. You cursed the Great Deku Tree as well. Perhaps not even you were aware of this, but you managed to kill him. You like to ask questions, so I have a question for you. Where are all these Moblins and Bokoblins coming from? Where did the Darknuts find reinforcements? Where did the Lizalfos raiders come from, and how were the bullbos they ride able to pass through Ordon Province? Might this be because the guardian of the forest has fallen, perhaps?"

"There's no use denying it, cousin," Nabooru spoke up. "You may not have incited the rebellion, but you certainly didn't discourage it when you walked among the Darknuts and Moblins, and with your actions you allowed their discontent to gain momentum. I know where you went when you left the castle at night, and I know what you did to find the three sacred stones. It was never a secret to any of us."

"And now a mob gathers outside my castle when my city is most vulnerable to attack, demanding that a leader emerge," Daphnes added. "They seem to believe that Ganon will appear to lead them. If you didn't prepare for this, what business do you have here in the Temple of Time? Why do you seek to open the gate to the Sacred Realm, if not to claim the Triforce?"

"You have twisted my intentions to suit your own purpose!" Ganondorf roared. "I believed that Hyrule was in dire peril, and I used whatever means necessary to prevent the coming calamity from occurring! I tell you now, there is no such thing as Ganon! There is only a monarchy that manufactures disaster and calls it Ganon! I came for the Triforce, but I do not wish to use it – I intend to destroy it!"

"Then you will destroy us all," Daphnes said in a quiet voice. "Hyrule will cease to exist without it."

"Then perhaps it's time for this kingdom to fall," Ganondorf said, straining to keep his voice level. "Let it end gracefully. Welcome the invaders into your castle and treat them as equals. Give them a place within your halls, allow them to eat at your tables. Don't force them to camp at the margins of your city. Allow these tribes to celebrate the coronation of the new queen, and she will become their queen as well. Hyrule will change; it must change. But something different will rise in its place. Let the new queen usher in this change. Even if you don't trust me, do you not have faith in your own daughter?"

"Believe me when I say that I understand your reasoning," Daphnes responded stoically, "but you are wrong. I assure you, Ganon is quite real."

"You may think that the monarchy is a relic of the past," he continued, "and you are absolutely correct. Yet you're mistaken in your belief that the aim of the queens and kings of Hyrule is to subjugate the people of this land. Though we would gladly share our power with our people, we cannot. The monarchy exists because Ganon exists, and our purpose is to ensure that order is maintained when Ganon does attack, as it inevitably will."

Daphnes frowned, the lines of his age creasing his face. "You're not unintelligent, misguided though you may be. You must know that this demon is real. Once it appears, chaos will reign. People will be divided into 'us' and 'them,' and a system of classification will be instated to weed out insurrection. The races associated with Ganon will be treated like animals, and they will be hunted down and eradicated. Murderers will become heroes, and people will cheer for them, all in the hope that their own lives will be spared. We live with the consequences of this legacy every day, and I assure you that this genocide will surely happen again if Ganon reappears. You cannot touch the Triforce, Ganondorf. If you know as much about it as you claim to, then you must know it will destroy you, and your insanity will shatter the peace of Hyrule. Turn away now. Help us calm the rebellion, and we will forgive you. We are not unmerciful."

"I refuse," Ganondorf stated flatly. "You are an outsider to all of this, Daphnes, and you do not know what you speak of. Stand aside."

"Cousin, _please_ ," Nabooru entreated him in Gerudo. "Think of your mother! Think of the princess. I know you care for her. If you can't do this for yourself, then do it for her."

"I do this for all of us," Ganondorf replied in Hylian. "I will not allow Ganon to be manufactured by you or by the Triforce, but there is not a second to be wasted, not if the seal held in place by the Master Sword has been broken. You must allow me to pass, before it's too late. If you stand in my way, I will cut you down. I assure you that this is not an empty threat."

"As you wish," Daphnes intoned. "So you have spoken, and so your words will be your downfall."

He nodded, and in the blink of an eye Impa leapt into the air, a dagger in each hand.

Ganondorf stepped lightly to the side, and an enormous sword appeared in his hand just in time to cleanly pierce through the armored plate covering Impa's torso. He kicked her body away from him before her blades could graze his skin, and then he slung his sword to the side, sending a spray of Impa's blood outward in a red fan.

Before Zelda could react, Nabooru dashed forward. Ganondorf vanished in a flash of ultraviolet light and rematerialized behind her. He struck the base of her neck with the heavy sphere balancing the blunt end of the pommel of his sword, and she fell to the ground, her spear rolling away from her senseless hand.

All of this happened in seconds, and Zelda barely had time to take a breath before she gathered her will to speak.

"Ganondorf, stop, what are you – "

Before she could finish, Makar flew into the air with a noise like the buzzing of a hornet's hive. As he moved forward he waved his hand, sending needles of light in Ganondorf's direction. Ganondorf blocked his magic as easily as brushing away a fly, and then he snapped his fingers, causing Makar's small body to erupt into flames.

Darunia came for him while his back was turned, but Ganondorf anticipated his attack, pivoting on the balls of his feet and pointing a single finger at the raging Goron. A blast of arctic air shot out from his left hand and struck Darunia directly in his chest, encasing him in ice. Frozen though he was, the force of Darunia's momentum caused him to fall forward, and his body was impaled with the cruel spears of the ice that shattered under his weight.

Zelda felt the strength leave her legs as she watched, and she struggled to remain standing. How could everything have gone so horribly wrong so terribly quickly?

While Zelda was paralyzed with shock, Ruto walked calmly down from the dais. "Ganondorf, please," she said, offering her hand to him.

Without hesitating, Ganondorf drew his sword back and then pushed it forward as its blade disappeared into Ruto's chest. A second later he realized what he had done, and he quickly withdrew his sword from her body, letting the blade fall to the ground as he caught her in his arms.

Ruto did not look at Ganondorf but turned her face to Zelda. "I'm so sorry," she whispered before staggering backward. A brilliant blue stone appeared in her hand, and she tossed it to Daphnes.

As Zelda watched her father catch the Zora's Sapphire, she saw that Darunia had managed to drag himself to Daphnes, leaving a trail of oily blood behind him. He reached up, and in his massive hand was the Goron's Ruby.

Ganondorf picked up his sword as Ruto fell. Zelda could see that he was shaking with rage, and his body had begun to glow with the same gold-tinged not-light of the Twilight.

"Is this what you wanted, Hylian king?" Ganondorf snarled. "And all for only two stones."

"No, there's a third," Link said from Zelda's side. He had been shielding her with his sword, but he let his arm drop as he walked past Ganondorf, removed the Kokiri's Emerald from a pouch at his waist, and handed it to Daphnes.

Ganondorf stretched out his left arm, and another sword materialized into his hand.

"I truly hoped we could do this a different way," he said to Link, his voice as soft as silk, "but I suppose I can fight you. For all the trouble it's caused, I hope you know how to use that sword."

"Hurry!" Link shouted to Daphnes, raising the Master Sword to defend himself. "Do what you need to do while I have him distracted!"

Only a minute had passed, but Zelda felt every second as an eternity. The first clash of swords between Link and Ganondorf jolted her out of her paralysis. She ran forward and jumped onto the dais as Link and Ganondorf began their battle in earnest. Against her better judgment she glanced over her shoulder, and she was amazed by what she saw. They weren't fighting as much as they were dancing, and they were beautiful. Zelda was briefly mesmerized by their skill and grace, but she quickly recovered her senses and rushed to Daphnes, who was now standing in front of a portal. On the other side was a pure blue sky. The light of the sun refracted in rainbows from a circle of clouds, and in their midst was the Triforce, shining and golden.

Daphnes gazed at the Triforce with solemn eyes. In his left hand he held what looked like a white baton.

"Ganondorf wasn't wrong when he said that I'm an outsider to all of this," Daphnes spoke quietly, sensing Zelda's presence beside him. "I have no power of my own, and I know that the Triforce will not respond to me, not as it should. But my family has its own history, insignificant though it may be, and we once had our own magic. This is all that's left of it," he said, raising the baton, "but perhaps it will be enough to end this."

"Father, please," Zelda begged. "Don't do this."

"Forgive me, Zelda," he said, and then he reached through the portal.

There was a flash of light so bright that Zelda had to shield her eyes, and a second later there was a boom of thunder. Before Zelda even had a chance to lower her arm from her face, rain began to pour down from the sky.

The portal disappeared into itself, and Daphnes fell to the ground.

"No!" Ganondorf roared, his voice swelling into a wordless scream of rage. His twin swords vanished from his hands, and Link was so startled that he almost dropped the Master Sword, whose blade clanged against the marble floor. Zelda looked from Ganondorf to Link, and she saw that Link was staring at the entrance to the temple, where an opalescent shimmer was starting to form at the bottom edges of the walls.

"Zelda, you need to get out of here!" Ganondorf screamed, his words only barely audible in the rising cacophony of rain and thunder.

"Run!" he shouted, gesturing wildly. "While there's still time!"

Zelda heard Ganondorf yelling, but the magical shimmer was growing brighter. She stood and watched it, transfixed. What in the world was going on? And what did it matter? Her kingdom had fallen, and she was surrounded by the bodies of people she loved. This couldn't be real. It must be another one of her visions, or one of the strange dreams she had been having during the past few weeks. All she had to do was wait, and eventually she would wake up.

Ganondorf turned away from her and began talking to Link. Zelda could just barely make out what he said, something about putting the Master Sword back in its pedestal. There was something about a broken seal, and something about Demise's malice breaking through a barrier. He said something about the resurrection of Ganon, and something about this being their last chance.

Link was screaming back at Ganondorf, asking why he should listen to anything he said. Ganondorf stepped forward and slapped Link across the face with the full weight of his body before wresting the Master Sword out of his hand. Take Zelda, he was saying. Take her and run, run as fast as you can, get as far away from here as you can, save as many people as you can. He kept speaking, but his words were lost in the rain.

Zelda watched this scene play out in front of her, but time moved like the drip of honey slowly pooling into a spoon. When the portal opened, she had heard a strange melody coming from the other side like the distant echo of harp strings. The song was stuck in her head for some reason, and she started to hum it to distract herself as Link tried to attack Ganondorf with his bare hands.

Her clothing had become thoroughly drenched in the downpour, and the fabric at her waist flattened and clung to her hips. She could feel the solid shape of the ocarina against her leg. It seemed to be the only thing she could feel, so she shook it free, extracting it from the heavy tangle of wet fabric in a daze.

Still humming the song running through her mind, Zelda put the mouthpiece of the ocarina to her lips, and as she began to play the world faded from her eyes.


	26. Future Past Perfect

When Zelda opened her eyes there was a young teenage boy looking back at her. His skin was dark, his eyes were a muddy shade of blue, and his dirty blond hair was piled on top of his head in a loose bun. His ears were pointed but curiously stunted. He looked like someone from outside Hyrule, but he was like no traveler she had ever seen. The skin of his face was peeling from sun damage, and his exposed arms and shoulders were crossed with the white lines of healed scars. He was wearing loose linen trousers and a dirty sleeveless smock woven from coarse fabric that had been weathered into a dull gray. At least, Zelda thought it was gray – there was something odd about the quality of the light.

"So you're finally here, then." It was a girl's voice, but just barely. There was something strikingly familiar about it.

"I guess I am girl," she said, answering Zelda's unasked question. "Or, at least, that's what people keep insisting. I don't really think of myself that way, though. The last time I saw you, you were in the castle dungeon dressed like a boy, and you used a man's voice. I guess it's that way for both of us, but I'm like this all the time. I'd prefer if you didn't make a big deal out if it."

 _What do you mean, you saw me?_ Zelda asked, surprised that she couldn't speak the words that formed in her mind. A second later, she realized that she wasn't looking at the teenager – the teenager was looking into a mirror.

"I saw you in my visions," they said. "I'm a Zelda too, it turns out. But that's a stupid old-fashioned name from a stupid language that's been dead for who even knows how long. My real name is Tetra."

They were indeed speaking to her in an unfamiliar language, but Zelda trusted that Tetra could understand her just as she had understood the languages of all the other princesses in her visions.

"For fuck's sake, I'm not a princess," Tetra said in response to her thoughts, frowning at their reflection. "Do I look like a princess to you?"

 _Did you escape the castle, then?_ Zelda asked, suddenly hopeful. _Or did I, in the past? Do you know what happened?_

Tetra laughed at her questions, a nasty sneer rising to their face. "Did I escape the castle? No, dumbass, Boat King and Boat Boy dragged me here to fulfill some sort of dipshit destiny." Tetra clicked their tongue and scowled. "Some destiny that turned out to be. Why don't you take a look around?"

Tetra turned away from the mirror, and Zelda found herself looking through Tetra's eyes at the Great Hall of Hyrule Castle, which was transformed beyond all imagining. The black and white tiles of the floor were still intact, as were the stairs leading to the upper galleries, but the ceiling had crumbled in places, and some of the columns had tumbled down and lay across the rubble-strewn floor like petrified logs. There were jumbles of bare bones swept into corners, and discarded weapons were scattered about, their blades rusting and their poles and pommels half rotted away. The light that shone down through the clerestory windows was bright but strangely muted, as if it were being filtered through water.

"How clever of you to figure that out," Tetra said. "We _are_ underwater. I'm not sure how deep. It's magic, or something. Not like I care."

 _What in Hylia's name happened here?_ Zelda asked, amazed.

"What do you mean, what happened here? You did this! This is _your_ fault, and you're asking _me_ what happened? I knew you were stupid, but this is some next-level bullshit."

 _I swear I don't know_ , Zelda pleaded.

"Well then, why don't you think about it for two goddamn seconds," Tetra hissed in a tone as cold as a blast of mountain wind, and suddenly Zelda recognized their voice. This was the voice that she had been hearing in her mind ever since she first encountered Ganondorf in the hallway outside the castle library.

"Now you're getting somewhere!" Tetra exclaimed, her words thick with irony.

 _What happened to Ganondorf?_

"Stop asking stupid questions, like 'what happened' to someone. Things don't just _happen_ to people."

 _All right, fine. What's the right question?_

"You might want to try asking what Ganondorf _did_. Like starting a war and then killing the sages who maintained the temples that kept Hyrule in balance, back when there was such a thing as Hyrule. The people of your kingdom prayed for a hero to save them, but no hero appeared, and that's why no one except the two of us has ever even heard of such a thing as Hyrule."

 _Ganondorf did what?_

"Started a war, you idiot. That's why the gods created the Great Sea. Hyrule got flooded, along with this castle. And good riddance. Full offense, but this place is a dump."

The Great Sea? Zelda's mind raced as she tried to equate this information with what she had seen before she used the ocarina.

 _Hyrule was flooded? Because of Ganondorf?_ she asked Tetra. _Who told you that?_

"The King of Red Lions! Or, what's his name, Daphnes. The person who was king when this happened."

 _He's still alive?_ Zelda asked, confused.

Zelda could feel the shrug of Tetra's shoulders as they answered. "Not precisely. He's a boat now. Or a ghost? Possessing a boat? Or something. Long story. I didn't ask."

Her father had become a boat? Zelda's mind went blank from the absurdity of what Tetra had told her. Now that she thought about it, though, her father had come from a seaside province, and he had loved sailing. Apparently he finally got what he wanted, she supposed. She didn't know what Tetra meant when they said that he had become a boat, but that wasn't important.

 _If Daphnes told you that Ganondorf started a war and Hyrule flooded because of him, he lied,_ Zelda asserted. She didn't know why he would have lied, but that wasn't her concern.

"Of course he lied!" Tetra exclaimed, her shout ringing through the empty castle. "He lied to Link, and I don't even want to tell you how he lied to me. You know what I think, I think it's that fucking stick he gave to Link, the Wind Waker. That thing is _dangerous_ , and he gave it to a _child_. Ganondorf is awful, but the Wind Waker scares the shit out of me. The Great Sea hasn't been the same since Link started messing around with it. I know he means well, but…"

 _The Wind Waker? Are you talking about a white baton with curled trim?_

"Right, that one. That wakes the wind, you know? Or, I should say, completely changes the weather according to the whim of whoever uses it. Because that's just what everyone needs, right?"

 _The Wind Waker belongs to Daphnes_ , Zelda said, mostly to herself. _When he combined it with the power of the Triforce…_

"I figured something like that happened," Tetra admitted. "But he's not such a bad person, you know? And neither is Link, all things considered."

 _Are we talking about the same Link?_

"Yes, we're talking about the same Link. Who lived for hundreds of years, and now he's riding around in your dad, who's also a boat." Tetra let out an exasperated sigh. "No, dumbass, it's just some kid who happens to be called Link. He tried to save his sister from Ganondorf and failed miserably, because of course he did. The old man kicked him out of his fortress, and that's when the King of Red Lions picked him up. Why the boat chose Link to be a hero is anyone's guess. Maybe because he has the same name as the boy the king chose in your own time? Who knows, honestly. Maybe he was just getting desperate."

Zelda didn't understand most of what Tetra was telling her, so she asked the one question that felt crucial to her.

 _Are we talking about the same Ganondorf?_

"Yes, finally, you get it. Praise the gods, the avatar of wisdom finally gets it."

 _But how can that be possible?_

"I don't know. Magic? I think he was sealed down here along with the castle."

 _Why did he bring you here?_

"Like I told you, he didn't. The stupid boat king did. If you want to know the truth, Ganondorf probably saved me. The king brought me here, supposedly to keep me safe. But like, have you seen this place? I thought I was gonna die down here. If Ganondorf hadn't come along when he did, I probably would've starved to death. Not like I'm grateful or anything. I have seen some vile people in my life, but that disgusting old man is the absolute _worst_. He started kidnapping blonde girls with pointed ears to try to find the reincarnation of Zelda, and now surprise! He found me! Or he let the king find the so-called hero, and the hero found me. And now Ganondorf is holding me hostage, or whatever it is he's doing, so that he can use me as bait to make sure Link comes back with the Triforce. But he barely even talks to me, and it's been I don't even know how long that the two of us have been down here waiting. I'm dying of boredom. I swear, if someone gave me the Master Sword I would've had this whole business sorted out weeks ago. And in the meantime I've been seeing these visions of, like, past lives or whatever, which just pisses me off even more."

Given the situation, Zelda could understand Tetra's chattiness, and she could understand their annoyance as well. In fact, she was starting to grow annoyed herself.

 _So you summoned me here because you were bored?_

"I didn't summon you, you summoned yourself. I could tell when this thing started glowing," Tetra said as they stuck a hand down their shirt and removed a pendant. They held it in front of their face so that Zelda could see it, and she could tell from its translucent shade of cerulean blue that it had been fashioned from a fragment of the ocarina.

 _So there must be a reason I'm here_ , Zelda rationalized. _When you said that this was all my fault, what did you mean? If Hyrule flooded because of what my father did, how am I to blame?_

"Because you didn't try to stop him, idiot."

 _Stop my father?_

"No, you imbecile, the king was going to do what the king was going to do, and even though everything turned to shit I don't think he was wrong to do it. Meanwhile, you had so many chances to stop Ganondorf, but all you wanted to do was bat your eyelashes and make kissy faces at him. I just, I can't even. The reason I was looking in this stupid mirror in the first place was because I wanted to make absolutely sure that I'm not even distantly related to some spawn you created with him."

Zelda understood that Tetra was young, but she was starting to lose her patience. It also made her feel violated to know that this child had been watching her during some of her most intimate moments. _You have no idea what you're talking about_ , she said, _and you don't know Ganondorf at all_ _._

Tetra turned back to the mirror so that Zelda could see them smile. It wasn't pretty.

"Oh really?" they responded. "Don't I? Why don't I show you and let you see him for yourself?"

Tetra turned away from the mirror and began walking in silence, followed by the echoes of their sandals slapping against the floor. They climbed the steps up to the dais where the thrones had once sat and then exited through one of the rear doors. They navigated the passages between the waiting rooms without hesitation as they made their way to one of the central corridors, which was just as decrepit as the Great Hall. After a few minutes Zelda realized that Tetra was headed for the library. In a way, this comforted her. She didn't know whether Tetra was her descendant or her reincarnation or simply someone who had inherited royal blood and been selected as a "Zelda" as randomly as her father had apparently chosen "the hero," but she appreciated that they had been able to find the most direct path to the library and could follow it from memory.

 _For what it's worth_ , Zelda offered, _I don't think you're our child, or our great-great-great grandchild. We didn't ever… We didn't become that intimate, and you don't look like you have any Gerudo blood._

"Ganondorf loved you, you know. I could see it when he looked at you," Tetra responded as they continued to pace down the hallway. "But what's a Gerudo?"

Something about Tetra's question bothered her, but perhaps they were just unfamiliar with the word in Zelda's language. _Ganondorf is a Gerudo. It's someone who looks like him, from the desert_ , she tried to explain.

"I've been all around the Great Sea, but I've never met anyone who looks like Ganondorf," Tetra replied, and Zelda figured that this was probably true. Zelda had also never met anyone who looked quite like Ganondorf, but Tetra's next question sent a stab of ice into the base of her spine.

"What's a desert?"

Tetra looked directly in front of their feet as they walked, so Zelda wasn't able to see what lay outside the windows lining the hallway, but the murky light cast strange half-shadows on the threadbare and tattered remains of the carpet. Zelda watched these amorphous shadows shift at Tetra's feet before responding.

 _The Gerudo are one of the tribes of Hyrule, like the Rito and the Zora and the Gorons. They're almost all women, and most of them have bright red hair and gold or hazel eyes. Their ears are short and round, not like ours._

"Most people on the Great Sea have round ears," Tetra replied. "In fact, most people think _my_ ears are weird. But I've never seen anyone with red hair or gold eyes… Except Ganondorf, I guess. I've seen a few Goron traders, but they almost never come to this part of the ocean. And I don't know what a Zora is."

 _But that's impossible! The Zora are an aquatic race! They're basically fish! How could all of Hyrule be covered in water and there be no Zora?_

"Only monsters live in the Great Sea," Tetra replied automatically, as if they were merely stating a well-known fact. "People say there are fish farther out toward the Ocean King's territory, but I've only seen them in books myself."

Zelda's mind reeled. If all of Hyrule had flooded, then she didn't want to think about what had happened to the Gerudo in the low-laying desert. The Gorons might have been safe in their mountains, but what if their mines had flooded? And what was it about the water of this so-called Great Sea that repelled the Zora? Why would the Triforce have done something like this? Surely this wasn't what her father had intended.

Then again, Zelda had seen the Twilight Realm created by the Triforce, and it was beautiful but empty and terrible. If Ganondorf was correct, then it had been created for the purpose of bending the Sheikah to the royal will. She couldn't be sure if that was true; but, now that she had seen the Triforce at work once again, she suspected it might be. The Triforce had "saved" Hyrule, but only by preserving it as the Twilight Realm had been preserved. Meanwhile, everyone outside of this magic bubble had apparently perished or fled to seek shelter elsewhere. Zelda was reminded of her vision of the ancient kingdom decimated by Hylia's war against the earth god. Who was "saved" by that, exactly? Perhaps Ganondorf was right; perhaps the Triforce did need to be destroyed. Anything would be better than this.

Tetra finally arrived at the doors to the library. They shoved one open with some degree of difficulty and slipped through the crack. The room had obviously been ransacked, but only halfheartedly. Whoever had invaded the castle had apparently been content to overturn a few tables and knock down a few shelves. Mostly, however, it was exactly as Zelda remembered it.

The table that Zelda favored was still in the same position, and the window next to it was open. Tetra headed straight to the table, used a chair to climb onto it, and stuck their head out of the window into the courtyard garden.

The light here was bright, perhaps brighter than it had ever been in Zelda's own time. The sun shone directly from overhead. Tetra glanced up, and Zelda was amazed by what she saw. There was no way to describe it, except to acknowledge that she was indeed looking up from a great distance under the surface of an ocean. The garden's central fountain had been cleared of soil, and water flowed through it with a soothing sound. The garden itself had been meticulously maintained, and it overflowed with flowers. In this colorless underwater world, Zelda was astounded by the richness of the greenery.

"Hey!" Tetra called out. "Old man!"

There was a slight movement, and suddenly Zelda could see what Tetra was looking at. A figure crouching at the far edge of the garden rose. It was uncanny, almost as if a shadow had come to life and started walking on its own. The man who stood in the midst of a bed of lilies was undeniably Ganondorf, but the years had not been kind to him. He was clearly larger and more muscular than she remembered him, but he was also somehow gaunt. His hair had receded back from his skull, and his face was deeply lined. His cheeks were hollow, and his nose and stooped shoulders made him look like some sort of prehistoric bird of prey. He was still handsome, in a sad and awful way, but he looked as if he hadn't smiled in decades. To Zelda's horror, he still had on the same set of robes he had been wearing at the Temple of Time when he confronted Daphnes. They were still majestic, but their sheen had faded, making them somehow pitiful.

Ganondorf looked at Tetra, and Zelda saw that his eyes were still bright despite the dark shadows that rimmed the contours of his face. Zelda recognized his expression from her own encounters with him in this very garden. He had been deep in thought, and he wouldn't enter into a conversation of his own volition. Zelda wondered if Tetra had already figured this out.

"I said hey! Old man!" they called out again.

"What do you want, child," Ganondorf responded in Tetra's language with only the slightest trace of an accent.

"I'm just letting you know that I'm leaving the castle. I'm going to escape, and I'm never going to see you again. You can rot down here for all I care."

Ganondorf nodded slowly. "It will be dark soon. You know what rises from the ground when the sun sets. Be sure to take something to defend yourself with."

"Maybe I won't," Tetra said petulantly. "Maybe I'll just die. Just to spite you."

"Suit yourself," Ganondorf responded.

Zelda could feel Tetra's frustration welling up inside them. She knew that Tetra wanted some sort of reaction from Ganondorf. She also knew that they weren't going to get it, not like this.

Tetra sighed dramatically. "Not like you care, but I made some rice for dinner. With cardamom and bay leaves, like you showed me. I left some in a pot in the kitchen. You can eat it. Or not. You can just, you know, starve."

Tetra waited for Ganondorf to reply to her, but he only looked down at the flower he was holding in his hand, a Silent Princess. Zelda and Tetra watched as he squeezed a drop of its sap onto his finger and considered it intently before turning away from them.

Tetra made a rude gesture in his direction and then climbed down from the table before making her way over to one of the reading chairs. Its companions had been gutted and scattered across the floor, but someone had repaired this one, and next to it was a stack of books that Zelda recognized as some of her own favorites.

"It's not like I'm trying to be like you or anything," Tetra muttered, apparently picking up on Zelda's thoughts. "This castle is garbage," they said, collapsing into the chair with a puff of dust, "but I've been reading about Hyrule, and it sounds like maybe it wasn't so bad."

 _Hyrule is a land of great beauty_ , Zelda said, _but of course I'm biased. And I don't blame you for wanting to leave the castle._

Tetra removed the pendant from their shirt again and rolled it between their fingers.

"I got this thing from my mother," they said. "It was part of a set. If you speak into one of them, the sound comes out of the other one. I gave the second stone to Link, but…" Tetra bit their lip and picked at a bit of the wire casing on the stone with their fingernail before continuing. "He doesn't talk to me much. I guess he's busy trying to put the Triforce of Courage back together. So it's not like I have much to do while I'm stuck down here, and I realized that this blue gem is connected to your ocarina. I watched your life, you know, and it was kind of boring. Why do you do so much paperwork?"

 _I'm a princess_ , Zelda said, annoyed at herself for having to explain this to a teenager. _What else would I do?_

"You're a princess, and I manage the ship that I inherited from my mother. It's not like I just sit around all day. But you know what? I delegate. I get wanting to be in charge, but you don't have to do so much work. Just split the responsibility, honestly. Even I know that. But it's not like it matters to you now, right? Just look where all that paperwork got you."

Tetra waved their hand in a wide arc across the empty library, a relic of a dead and forgotten past, and the reality of the situation set in for Zelda. She had escaped her own time at a moment of crisis. Whatever she was supposed to do, she hadn't done it, and when she returned she would spend the rest of her life watching her people die and become refugees, if indeed she herself managed to survive. And what of Link? And Ganondorf?

But she couldn't let herself give in to despair. There was something she was meant to see here, she was sure of it. Something Tetra mentioned caught Zelda's attention, and she felt she needed to pursue it.

 _What do you mean that Link is trying to put the Triforce of Courage back together?_ she asked.

"Actually, I… I'm not too clear on the details," Tetra admitted. Then they raised their right hand, with their palm facing outward. A bright golden triangle began to glow on the skin just above their wrist. "I have the Triforce of Wisdom, as you can see, and the old man out there with his flowers has the Triforce of Power. Link is looking for the Triforce of Courage, which he needs to find in order to be able to wield the Master Sword and defeat Ganon. Or Ganondorf. Whatever. At least that's what the boat told him, but I don't think any such thing is going to happen."

 _Why not?_ Zelda asked, genuinely curious.

Tetra nudged a pile of books with the tip of their sandal, and the top half fell over to reveal a familiar illustrated botanical.

"You saw that lily he was holding, right? Those things are super poisonous. You drink even the slightest drop of sap from one of those leaves, and you go to sleep and don't wake up again. I've seen a lot of unhappy people living alone on their own tiny islands, but I've never seen someone who wants to die as much as that gross old man. But if he can't kill himself, nothing can, and he's not going to stop until he gets what he wants."

 _What does he want, then?_

"He says he's going to bring the three parts of the Triforce back together. Apparently if you touch it you get a wish granted, or something? He says he wants to make the Great Sea disappear from Hyrule. But that's just stupid, if you ask me. Look at what happened the last time some moron tried to wish on the Triforce. And it even split apart, just because it wasn't the right person who touched it. Can you believe that? I tried to explain this to him, but he wouldn't listen. I don't know how you could stand him, he doesn't listen to anyone."

Zelda couldn't argue with that. _He sure doesn't_ , she agreed. If she were going to fix things, then she couldn't rely on Ganondorf or Link to take the initiative. She would have to figure something out herself and hope that they followed her lead. Thankfully, based on what Tetra had told her, she was starting to think that there might be a way to change all of their destinies.

 _Say, Tetra_ , she began. _Let's suppose, just for the sake of argument, that I go back in time and alter what happens. My father never touches the Triforce, and Hyrule never floods. How would you feel about that?_

Tetra didn't answer immediately, as Zelda suspected they wouldn't. Time travel did have certain implications, after all, and by this point Zelda knew that Tetra was clever enough to appreciate what these implications entailed.

"If you're worried I'm going to disappear," they finally answered, "I don't think it works like that. I don't know how I know that, but I do. This world will survive, and I'll survive too."

Zelda's intuition had led her to the same conclusion. This was just her theory, but she suspected that, as long as this timeline had its own Triforce, it would continue to exist, perhaps running parallel to her own. As long as Tetra was okay with that, then she could act without reservation. There was no reason for her to linger here, but she didn't want to go back quite yet.

 _What do you think you'll do, when this is all over?_ she asked.

"I've been thinking about that," Tetra answered, their voice sounding suddenly older. "I love my ship, and I love sailing, but I've been reading about your Hyrule. And I've seen it in these visions I've been having, or bits and pieces of it at least. I don't want to be a princess, not really, but it might be nice to live somewhere like Hyrule. I haven't seen it for myself, but people say that there's a lot of unsettled land out there, islands so big that you can go for weeks without getting to the other side."

Tetra paused for a moment and then removed the pendant from their neck before tossing it from hand to hand, throwing and then catching it.

"The old man doesn't talk much, but sometimes he gets going. Most of it's nonsense, but every once in a while he'll actually say something interesting. You know, about running a kingdom. Except it wouldn't really be a kingdom, not the way that I would do it. Because, you know, it's good to delegate. And split power evenly. And not put too much responsibility on any one person. And not kill people just because they're Moblins or Darknuts or whatever. I'd want to make something like a republic, maybe. Like what we have among the different clans of pirates. I think I could make it work."

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Zelda felt a spark of hope kindle in her chest.

 _I think so too_ , she assured Tetra. Not that Tetra needed any assurance.

 _I've got to go_ , Zelda continued. _But before I do, I have a favor to ask._

"So ask."

 _Please take care of Ganondorf._

"Yeah." Tetra sighed. "I'll take care of him."

 _You may not be a princess, Tetra, but you'll make a fine leader one day. Let's just hope I can manage to do the same._

"It sounds to me like you already have a plan. I hope it works out for you. I never thought I believed in Hylia before this nonsense, but if she's real, I hope she's looking out for you."

 _You know what to do, then?_

Tetra nodded, pressed the glowing blue stone of their pendant against their lips, and began humming a song that Zelda felt she had known all her life.


	27. What It Means to Fight

"Turn away now," Daphnes ordered. "Help us calm the rebellion, and we will forgive you. We are not unmerciful."

Ganondorf scowled at him and prepared to respond, but Zelda preempted him.

"There is no mercy in this," she proclaimed. There was power in her voice, and it propelled her forward. She stepped in front of Ganondorf, leaving Link behind her.

"Father, if you know what this man is, then you know what you're doing by provoking him. You will get everyone in this room killed, including yourself."

"He's a monster, Zelda!" Daphnes objected. "You have no idea what he's capable of."

"Actually, I do. I know _exactly_ what he's capable of."

Zelda took another step forward, and she felt the very stones of the temple resonate with her determination.

"Zelda, I know you're exhausted," Daphnes said, attempting to placate her. "And I know… I know you care for this man. You're still young, and your entire future is ahead of you. Please, let us protect you."

Zelda laughed, remembering how Tetra's eyes had sparkled in the mirror of the underwater castle. She took another step forward, and she remembered how glorious it was to be a goddess flying high over Hyrule. She remembered the girl on the sacrificial altar, Hylia's mortal reincarnation and her distant ancestor. Was that altar somewhere in this very temple? Zelda thought it just might be. She could feel the energy of this sacred place flowing through her.

She thought of the glamour Ganondorf had cast on his clothing, and she realized that she knew exactly how the spell worked. She cast it under her breath, using it to clothe herself in the pure white dress of the sky goddess, and she delighted in the touch of the warm summer air on her skin as her Sheikah clothing faded away. Her feet were bare, connecting her to the earth of this ancient ground. A horrible sacrifice had been offered to the goddess long ago in this very place, soaking the soil at the center of Hyrule with the blood of the god who loved it.

She understood that she was meant to be a sacrifice as well. People would fight for her, and people would die for her, as people had fought and died for her in the past. Hyrule was Hylia's legacy, and her role was to represent this legacy, trapped within the beautiful crystal of her fate so that she could suffer nobly for her kingdom. Her father and her friends and Link and even Ganondorf were all fighting for her, but no one ever asked what she wanted.

Zelda smiled as she raised her bow. It was no longer the small Sheikah reflex bow Impa had given her but a glowing arc of pure silver. The arrow she fit against its string was a bolt of radiant light.

"I can protect myself," Zelda said to Daphnes, and then she shot him.

The ray of light struck him exactly where his right arm joined his shoulder, severing it completely. _He won't be touching the Triforce anytime soon_ , Zelda thought, feeling no guilt whatsoever.

The king's wound cauterized instantly, but he passed out from shock and collapsed. No one moved or spoke as Zelda hopped lightly onto the dais, knelt by her father's body, and removed a white baton from an inner pocket of his robe. Still kneeling, she slung her bow over her back, and then she stood. She held the Wind Waker in her hands and snapped it in half. It was much easier than she thought it would be. When it broke, the baton dissolved into faint particles of light, and Zelda felt its magic surge into her.

"I'm glad that's taken care of," she announced, clapping her hands together.

"Now on to the next order of business," she continued, summoning another silver arrow to her fingers.

She turned to Darunia. "You've been like an uncle to me, and I thank you. My father will need your support as he recovers," she said. "But you have to give me that ruby. Your people don't owe this kingdom anything, and you have nothing to lose if the volcano erupts. Lava is the lifeblood of the mountain, and I have no doubt you can tame the dragon that flows through it. It's still a child, after all. It may even become your son's companion after he gets better. When I am queen, I will see to it that whatever is amiss on Death Mountain is settled to your satisfaction."

She held out her hand. Darunia, looking sheepish, dropped the Goron's Ruby into her palm. She struck it with the silver arrow, and it shattered.

Next she turned to Makar. "If you're going to become the next Deku Tree," she began, "we need to get something straight right now. I will do everything in my power to protect your forest, and I expect you to do nothing less, but I will not tolerate people getting lost in those woods. Your territory has served as a barrier cutting Hyrule off from the rest of the world for centuries, and that has to end. We will both see to it that no one will threaten the forest, but this kingdom cannot remain isolated."

She pointed at Link. "Give me the Kokiri's Emerald," she commanded, and he removed it from his pouch, awestruck. She threw the arrow like a dart, and the gem burst into pieces in his hand. Makar did not respond to any of this but only watched her, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I believe I'm next," Ruto said, the Zora's Sapphire already shining between her fingers.

"Ruto, I'm sorry," Zelda began to apologize, but Ruto cut her off.

"Give me another one of those arrows," she said. "I want to do this myself."

Zelda did so, and Ruto plucked the silver arrow from her hand before driving it down violently onto the blue stone, which exploded into a shower of shining dust.

"Sweet Nayru, that felt so good," Ruto sighed, handing the arrow back to Zelda. "I've wanted to do that for years. We'll talk about this soon, I promise," she added, winking.

Zelda winked back and then faced Impa. "You're fired," she said simply. "You and your entire tribe, you're all fired. I don't know what happened to the Sheikah in the past, but I have a pretty good idea. What my family did to you wasn't right then, and it isn't right now. Of course I would never object if you were to stick around, but only if you decide to stay as my friend and as my equal. And as my advisor, not as my assassin. Think about it, okay?"

Impa nodded in acknowledgment, and Zelda turned to Nabooru, who raised an eyebrow when Zelda met her gaze.

"You," Zelda said, "are perfect. You should visit Hyrule more often. As long as I'm in this castle, the Gerudo will always be welcome here."

"I'll consider it," Nabooru responded. "I only hope there will be a castle left for us to visit."

"I was just getting to that," Zelda replied.

She stepped over her father's body and walked to the pedestal at the back of the dais before turning and facing Link.

"Listen, you're not bound to me," she said. "I appreciate the gesture, but I don't need a chosen knight. Your destiny is your own, and you don't have to be a hero if that's not what you want. If you wouldn't mind listening to my advice, though, you should really stop being so quick to follow orders. And you've got to put that sword back where it belongs before anything escapes from the broken seal."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to follow orders," Link said, already stepping forward to join her.

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Just do it," she said. Link grinned in response.

"And finally, _you_ ," she said, looking directly into Ganondorf's face. "You are an idiot. Did you really think you could just touch the Triforce and fix all this? That is the _dumbest_ idea I've ever heard in my life, and you would know that if you actually _talked_ to people instead of trying to do everything on your own."

"With all due respect, Princess," Ganondorf answered, crossing his arms over his chest, "isn't that what you're doing? Trying to fix everything yourself? Issuing commands while shattering gems and breaking political arrangements that have been around for centuries? But I admit, I admire your courage. If you have an idea for how to end this cycle, I'm listening."

"You know what? I've seen things you wouldn't believe, and I don't have time to deal with another one of your monologues. As it happens, I do have an idea. Stop standing down there by yourself and get up here so you can help me."

Ganondorf didn't move, and for a moment she thought he was going to reject her, to turn on his heels and leave the temple on his own. _Please_ , she begged him silently, hoping against hope that he would trust her. She understood how difficult it must be for him to stand alone with all of them looking down on him, especially since none of them had done anything to help him when he'd asked. _Please, don't make me fight you_ , Zelda thought, struggling not to cry. As she waited for Ganondorf to make a decision, the power she'd felt when she destroyed the sacred stones deserted her, and once again she felt vulnerable and helpless. Were they really so bound by their fates that she could come this far and still have him walk away from her?

He must have seen something in her eyes, because he dropped his gaze and shook his head. "Don't make me regret this," he muttered, and a second later he had teleported onto the dais beside her.

Zelda smirked. Ganondorf may have done what she asked, but he still had to show off while he did it. Hopefully that meant he wasn't too angry at her. She certainly hoped he wasn't – she had almost killed her father for his sake, after all.

"Darunia," she said, "can you take the king back to the castle? Tell everyone that he was injured in battle. Everyone else, can you leave me and Link and Ganondorf here? I'm counting on you to get everything under control before we return. Make sure all the combatants are retained in the front courtyard. I've got a speech already prepared, and I need an audience to make it effective."

"I thought I was fired." Impa scowled at her.

"For Din's sake." Zelda clicked her tongue in an unconscious imitation of Tetra. "Nabooru, can you help?"

"Come on, everyone," Nabooru spoke up, tugging at Impa's ear as Darunia hoisted Daphnes onto his shoulders. "It looks like it's up to us to get this situation cleaned up. Let's go."

Zelda smiled gratefully, and Nabooru returned her smile before turning away from her. Zelda knew that there would be repercussions for sending everyone off to settle matters at the castle while she remained at the temple to conduct this last bit of business in secret, and she wasn't looking forward to the conversation she needed to have with her father, but she would have to worry about that later.

"All right, it's just us now," Link said after the group had left. "Zelda, do you want to explain what's going on? Or did you just want to clear the stage so that I can fight him in peace?" he added, pointing to Ganondorf with his thumb.

"You wouldn't stand a chance," Ganondorf growled.

"What was that?" Link glanced at him out of a corner of his eye. "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught what you said. I couldn't hear you over the sound of having the Master Sword in my hand right now."

"I'm sorry, Link, but you're really going to need to put that back," Zelda cut in. "Ganondorf is wrong about a lot of things, but he's right about the sword acting as a seal on Demise's curse."

"When did I say that?" Ganondorf asked, shooting her a sharp look.

"Sorry, wrong timeline." Zelda shrugged. "I guess I owe both of you an explanation, so here it is. Basically, my father used the Triforce to amplify the power of the magical artifact I just destroyed, which flooded Hyrule. Ganondorf, you stayed in the castle and started kidnapping people. Meanwhile, I think I escaped and had a child with Link. Maybe? I'm not sure. Anyway, just about everyone in this kingdom died, but I learned something interesting about the Triforce."

"Which is?" Ganondorf prompted.

"We had a kid?" Link asked. Zelda ignored him.

"If someone whose heart isn't in perfect balance touches the Triforce, then it breaks into its three component parts, each of which lodges within a chosen bearer. When Daphnes touched the Triforce, it must have split, because Ganondorf got the Triforce of Power. I got the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link, I think you got the Triforce of Courage, although I'm not entirely sure what you did with it, because it seems to have fragmented even further… But that's beside the point."

"So what you're saying is that it's possible to split the Triforce without destroying it," Ganondorf concluded, rubbing his beard.

"Wait, hold up. I'm still not over this thing about us having a kid," Link interjected, and Zelda continued to ignore him.

"Based on what happened because of my father, I don't think it's a good idea for any one person to touch the Triforce. Ganondorf, I know you think the solution is to destroy the thing altogether, but I'm not so sure about that. I think we need more time to figure out what the Triforce is and how it works, because I don't want to do anything that can't be undone."

"But – "

Zelda cut him off. "I promise, you don't want to touch that thing. At least not alone."

"So we should all touch it together, is what you're saying," Link suggested.

Zelda snapped her fingers. "Exactly! If we split it between the three of us, then it will continue to exist, but no single one of us will be able to use it without the full understanding and consent of the others. This should also remove it from the control of my family, at least partially. Hopefully that will forestall Demise's curse and prevent the return of Ganon."

"That's the second time you've said that word," Link broke in. "What's Demise?"

"I'll tell you later," Ganondorf said.

"No, I'll tell him," Zelda insisted, knowing exactly how Ganondorf would spin that story. An instant later she corrected herself, ashamed that her first instinct had been to assume the worst of Ganondorf's intentions. "Or actually, both us of can tell him together. The point is that we need to touch the Triforce, all three of us at the same time. But before we do, I need to make sure that the Triforce won't choose one of us as its master."

Zelda paused, unsure of how to phrase what she was trying to express. "Um, this is a strange question, but neither of you has a pure and balanced heart, right?"

"No," said Ganondorf flatly.

Link laughed. "Oh goodness no. Listen, I could tell you things that – "

Zelda waved a hand to cut him off. "I'm pretty sure I don't either. We should be good then."

"So how do we enter the Sacred Realm?" Ganondorf asked. "You destroyed the three sacred stones that were supposed to be the keys that open the gateway."

"About that," Link answered for her. "The sacred stones didn't open the portal. It's complicated, but their purpose was to reveal the pedestal where the Master Sword slept. This sword was forged and blessed by Hylia herself, and it's the key that opens the Sacred Realm. The gateway was briefly accessible when the sword was drawn, and I think it will open again when it's replaced on the pedestal."

"Are you sure?" Zelda asked. She had a feeling that this was indeed the case, but she needed to be certain.

"I can't explain it," Link replied, "but it's like the sword has a voice, like it's singing to me, telling me things."

"You do understand how strange that is, don't you?" Ganondorf said in a sour tone.

Zelda shot him a look before addressing Link. "I believe you," she assured him. "Like Ganondorf, I'm concerned about what will happen if that sword remains drawn, but I don't want to force you to do anything that you'll regret later. Based on what you've told me, you've spent most of your life searching for the Master Sword. I don't really understand what happened, but now it seems that you've bonded with it in some way. Are you willing to give it up?"

"I most assuredly am," Link replied. "Nothing would make me happier. I've always wanted to become stronger, but not… not like this."

A look of pure relief spread across Link's face as he regarded the Master Sword's empty pedestal, and Zelda couldn't help but smile at the purity of his happiness. Their eyes met, and for a moment – just for a moment – Zelda could envision herself leaving the temple with Link and setting out into the brave new world of a future that no longer existed.

Ganondorf cleared his throat. "Once the gateway to the Sacred Realm opens," he said, "I'm not sure how much time we'll have. I'd like to act quickly, so we need to decide what wish we want granted when we touch the Triforce. I don't think we have much room for error."

"What do you mean?" Link asked.

"Say that each of us wishes for Ganon to be defeated. That wish could be misinterpreted, with one of us becoming Ganon precisely so that they can be defeated. Or say we each wish for Hyrule to have a prosperous future. That would mean something different to each of us, so the Triforce might end up creating three different worlds to contain each of our wishes. We don't know how the magic works, so it would be best to be as precise as possible."

"Then it's simple enough, isn't it?" Zelda offered. "We each wish for one part of the Triforce, nothing more and nothing less. What part we get doesn't really matter – at least, not from what I've seen. It only matters that each of us gets one piece."

"Fine by me," Link assented, and Ganondorf nodded in agreement.

"All right." Zelda took a deep breath. "Link, are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Link answered. "Ganondorf? What about you?"

"I've been thinking about this moment for years. I couldn't be more ready."

"Zelda?" Link turned to her. "Are you ready?"

Zelda opened her mouth to respond, but then she glanced at Ganondorf. He was regarding her with an intent expression. Link may not have fully understood what he was asking of her, but Ganondorf did, and he was clearly concerned about the decision she would make. If there was a time to turn back, it was now.

Zelda considered Link's question. Was she ready?

It was very early in the morning of the day when she was to have been crowned as the newest queen of Hyrule, an event she had been preparing for her entire life. It was true that her castle was currently under siege, but this conflict could easily become an opportunity to establish herself as a strong monarch whose reign was marked by an auspicious beginning. By divine right, the Triforce belonged to her and her alone, and there was still time for her to claim it as her own. If she made a pure and selfless wish for the benefit of Hyrule, then it was entirely possible that she could become one of the greatest queens in history. When she was queen she could travel throughout her kingdom, bringing peace and prosperity to her subjects. Link could be her knight, and she might even be able to unite her people with the Gerudo by marrying Ganondorf.

Did she truly possess the courage to give all of that up, to relinquish all of the power and potential that she could achieve as a wise and compassionate ruler?

"Absolutely," she assured them. "Let's do this."


	28. The Legend of the Queen

Zelda stood at the window of her bedroom as the sun set over the western mountains.

She looked down at Castle Town, watching the activity in the streets as people came and went. The roads were filled with travelers, as were the canals. The city's population had grown steadily during the past ten years, and it seemed to have swollen overnight. Soon there would need to be wider roads, as well as another bridge, and the walls surrounding the city would have to come down to make room for new construction. In a way, Zelda mused, the damage caused by the riots may have been a blessing in disguise. Now there was finally an excuse to redesign the urban layout, something she had been discussing with her ministers since her earliest forays into the administration of the kingdom.

Zelda stretched her arms above her head and crossed them over her chest. She was already laying out a timeline in her head as she constructed a mental list of priorities. It was good to have a moment to herself to do nothing but think in silence. She was usually occupied with her clothing as soon as she returned to her private quarters, either to change into something formal for court or to extract herself from one of the gowns she felt obliged to wear, but at the moment she was comfortable as she was. Upon returning to the castle from the Temple of Time, she had ordered that one of her riding outfits be tailored into a military uniform. She was pleased with the results, and she couldn't deny that she looked good in pants and a jacket. A princess carefully reviewed petitions and made subtle suggestions, but a queen commanded armies.

 _Even if I'm only commanding them to disband immediately_ , she thought.

Zelda looked past the city and out to hazy line of the far mountains that marked the border of Gerudo territory, remembering what Tetra had told her about the division of political power. "Delegate," Tetra said, and that was exactly what Zelda intended to do.

At dawn she had stood on the balcony overlooking the front courtyard and delivered a speech to everyone in the castle, soldiers and invaders and guests and courtiers alike. She had done as she intended, pardoning everyone who had participated in the riots and promising to use the royal family's own funds to rebuild what had been damaged, but then she had surprised everyone by proposing an equal council of territories. The monarchy had been in existence for so long that she had only the most nebulous ideas concerning how a republic would work, but she would have time to figure that out, and she wouldn't have to do it alone.

Zelda's coronation ceremony was supposed to have begun an hour ago; but, given the circumstances, plans had changed. Her father still hadn't woken, and she served as the reigning monarch in his absence. She had thus become a queen without a grand ceremony. This was probably for the best, as resources were scare at the moment. At least the food prepared for the celebrations hadn't gone to waste, although it was still barely enough to feed all the people the castle was currently hosting.

Makar had vanished back into the forest, and Darunia had stayed with the king, but Ruto and Nabooru had remained at her side throughout the day. Impa had as well, for which Zelda was grateful. Link convinced Barghest to stand with her as she addressed the people who had invaded her city, and he was quite civil. Zelda had to take care to treat him not as the former stablemaster but as the leader of his tribe, but it was easier than she expected. She had been trained for such things, after all.

She sent Ganondorf to speak with the Moblins and Lizalfos who had set up camp in the training grounds, asking him to convey her goodwill to them. It was convenient that Ganondorf spoke their languages, and it was even more useful that they were willing to listen to him. As far as she could tell, no one in the camp said a word about Ganon, but she would have to monitor the situation. The irony of the faith she had placed in Ganondorf not to take advantage of his position was not lost on her, but she had decided to trust him when she allowed him to claim a piece of the Triforce.

Zelda raised her hand to look at the golden triangle on her skin and reflected on what Tetra said about how the Triforce had split before the flood. It was curious that she, the ostensible reincarnation of the avatar of divine wisdom, had ended up with the Triforce of Courage. Link had been granted the Triforce of Power, while the Triforce of Wisdom went to Ganondorf. This was a surprise to them all. She wondered if the Triforce had somehow chosen its bearers, or whether they chose for themselves, unconsciously asking for what they had wanted all along.

Perhaps one day she would have time to think back on all of this, but it was currently of utmost importance that she take action. Most of the visiting dignitaries would leave the castle soon, probably within the week, and Zelda was looking forward to setting out from the castle herself. Even if she hadn't been properly crowned, it was the duty of a new queen to tour her kingdom. Or rather, if the talks during the next few days went well, it would be her duty as the provisional leader of Hyrule to make diplomatic visits to the various territories of the republic. Daphnes would stay here and recover, and she would have space to think about how to rebuild their relationship during her journey. He was her father, and she loved him, but she would never be able to forget what she had seen him do, all the while claiming that his actions were to save her.

Considering what had happened to her mother, Zelda was anxious about traveling to the desert, but she knew it would be politically exigent if that were the first place she visited. If nothing else, it would be an interesting experience to be a guest in Ganondorf's court, and it amused her to imagine him doing his best to be appropriately courteous and polite to her in public.

There was a knock at the door. Zelda was annoyed, thinking that it was still too early for anyone to come fetch her for the evening assembly, especially since she had specifically asked not to be disturbed. "Come in," she said brusquely, making her irritation clear in her tone. As a princess, she had taken special care to be gracious and kind, but she was beyond such niceties now.

She waited for the door to open, but she couldn't hear anything behind her. A moment later she realized how odd it was for someone to have knocked on the door to her bedroom instead of the main door to her quarters. Whoever was at the door had already passed through the rooms below without alerting her. Zelda was immediately on guard. She slowly withdrew a short blade from the inside of her sleeve and turned swiftly while flipping the knife into her hand.

She came face to face with Ganondorf. Her blade was almost touching his throat.

"Good evening to you too," he said in a flat voice.

"My apologies." Zelda withdrew the knife and placed it on her dressing table. "I thought perhaps you'd come to kill me."

"That would be somewhat anticlimactic."

"Perhaps it would, but it would also be more efficient to murder me in private."

"Is that what you say to every man you invite into your bedroom?"

"I don't recall inviting you," Zelda replied. "Speaking of which, why _are_ you here? I seem to remember asking for a report on the negotiations with Barghest, but surely that can wait."

"I came because of a more pressing matter," Ganondorf said, withdrawing a lacquer box from an inner pocket of his robes. He smiled as he offered it to her. "Happy Birthday."

Zelda was taken aback. It was indeed her twentieth birthday, but no one had mentioned it at any point during the day. This was understandable, Zelda reasoned, given the current state of the castle. In fact, she had almost forgotten it herself.

Since she didn't move to take the box from him, Ganondorf placed it in her hands before lifting the lid himself to reveal two golden hairpins. They gleamed softly in the light of the setting sun.

"These belonged to my mother," Ganondorf explained. "They were given to me on my own twentieth birthday, but I had no use for them. I used to wear my hair long like all Gerudo men, but that was the day I decided to break with tradition and cut it short. This is something of a secret, but I happen to know that these hairpins were originally given to my mother by your own. I thought you might like to have them. As a memento, of sorts. Of our mothers, and the friendship they allowed us to enjoy when we were younger."

"They're beautiful," Zelda said, genuinely touched.

"Would you like to wear them?" Ganondorf asked.

Zelda nodded, closing the box and holding it to her chest as Ganondorf moved behind her. He carefully inserted the pins into the bun she wore, using them to tie the ends of her sidelocks back so that they framed her face like wings. He turned her toward her mirror and stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders.

"They look good on you," he said. "They bring out the gold in your hair."

Zelda met Ganondorf's eyes in the mirror, assessing him. He seemed pleased and content, but her own happiness was bittersweet. She suspected that they wouldn't have the opportunity to be alone together like this often, and she didn't want to enter into the same sort of painful relationship that their mothers had struggled with for so many years. _I need to break this off now_ , she resolved.

"I'll accept this as a gift of friendship from the king of the Gerudo," she said with a thin smile. "It will help me to remember you fondly once you're back in your own city."

"About that…" As Ganondorf allowed his words to trail off, he pressed his thumbs into the stiff muscles between her shoulder blades and began to massage her. Zelda wanted to tell him to stop, but she had been on her feet all day, and what he was doing with his fingers felt wonderful.

"I've been thinking about your decision to initiate a republic, and I've made my own decision to abdicate the throne. To tell the truth, it's something I've been considering for some time now. If I hadn't been born, the position would have gone to Nabooru, and she knows this as well as anyone. I've discussed it with her, and I believe she's amenable to the idea. I'd like to remain in Hyrule as an ambassador."

"It's been some time since we had a formal ambassador from the Gerudo," Zelda said cautiously.

"It's been some time since you had a formal ambassador from the Rito as well, and it goes without saying that you'll want to maintain a good relationship with the Darknuts and Moblins. I could help facilitate that."

"I suppose you could," Zelda agreed. "How generous of you."

Feeling self-conscious, Zelda walked to the window and looked out over the mountains, not wanting Ganondorf to see her blush.

"But I should tell you that I have a selfish reason for wanting to stay," Ganondorf continued as he followed her. "I've always loved Hyrule, ever since I first came to your castle with my mother. I'd like to spend more time here, if you'll have me."

Zelda thought of the flowers he kept in his rooms, and she thought of the old man in his garden under the Great Sea. By this point she knew Ganondorf well enough to know that he did nothing without reason, but she also knew he was telling the truth about his affection for Hyrule. Perhaps it would fade, in time; perhaps he might one day grow nostalgic for his homeland and long to return. But he was here now, telling her that he wanted to stay with her.

She turned to face him. _That would be nice_ , she wanted to say, or something equally inane, but instead of speaking she reached for him, and then his lips were on hers, hot and demanding. She opened herself to him, and he cupped the back of her neck to pull her closer. She tasted him in her mouth, the sweetness of his breath and the spice of his tongue.

A part of her expected to hear Tetra's voice in her mind, chastising her for allowing Ganondorf to take advantage of her. Was he really giving up power by abdicating, or did he still have an ulterior motive for wanting to remain in Hyrule? Was this part of a larger game he was playing?

 _If this man is a threat_ , Zelda thought, breaking the kiss, _then I welcome the challenge_. But she was done doubting Ganondorf's intentions, and she was done not speaking her mind.

"I'm going to have to tell you something," she said.

"Good," he replied, meeting her eyes. "I want you to tell me everything from now on."

"You seem to think that Ganon is a cycle, or somehow related to the seal held in place by the Master Sword, but I agree with my father, and I agree with our mothers. I think Ganon is real, and I've always worried that you would become Ganon, eventually. As long as you stay in Hyrule, I'm afraid that's always going to be a danger."

"None of this changes who I am," he said as he kissed her forehead. "I will always be on the side of the men who opposed Hyrule. I'm still angry about what happened to my mother, and I'm still angry that your monarchy has lasted for as long as it has. I will always be angry, and my anger will always be dangerous to you. But would you really want me to be gentle?"

"It would make me happy if you could be yourself," she answered, relaxing into the strength of his arms as he held her.

"You want me to be myself? After everything you've seen?"

 _I've seen more than you can possibly imagine_ , Zelda wanted to tell him. She thought of the man who had cut down each of the leaders of the tribes of Hyrule as gracefully as he had once danced with her in the Great Hall, telling her that Hyrule would burn, and she thought of the man with a lined face and stooped shoulders who tended flowers in his garden in the underwater courtyard outside a forgotten library. In the Temple of Time Zelda had realized that Ganondorf loved fighting, that it satisfied a physical craving within him. Or perhaps he needed a form for the violence that raged within him, since that was what he had and who he was. Zelda had seen Hyrule as Ganondorf must have seen it, passing through one life after another, staggering through a fantastic land of disaster and pain, floating under overbright moonlight on the waves of his own darkness.

"I will take control of your violence and exhaust it," she promised him, meeting his eyes. "I will take you to the end of the world and see that you arrive safely."

Ganondorf murmured her name and kissed her. He was fervent and urgent as he pressed himself against her, exploring and revealing her, consuming her with his hands and mouth even as he stiffened at her waist, earnest and sincere in his desire. The joining of their bodies was perfect, and they fit together as if they had been made for one another. If it was their fate that their union would only lead to disaster, then so be it. _We abandon kingdoms because we want more than kingdoms_ , Zelda thought, and in his arms she knew it was true.

"You saw something I didn't," Ganondorf said as he held her. Zelda nodded, her head against his chest. She waited for him to continue, but he was silent. It occurred to her that, for all the questions she had asked Ganondorf, he never once asked her to explain her own actions. Perhaps this was his way of doing so, waiting for her to reveal herself by making the first move.

"You want to know why I destroyed the baton my father was holding?"

"You said something about seeing Hyrule flood."

"I did," Zelda confirmed.

"You said you saw me as well."

"I did. You were… older. And unhappy. It wasn't a good future for you. Or for anyone, really."

"Did I become Ganon?"

"I don't think so."

"Was I still as handsome as I am now?"

"Of course," she lied.

"If I didn't see the vision, then it must have been real. You managed to move through time."

"I'm not sure if that's exactly what happened, but it felt close enough."

"That should be impossible."

"As impossible as the way you move through space?"

"The consequences of moving through space are minimal. You changed the entire reality of our world."

"Yes, and you should thank me."

"Would you do it again?"

"I'd prefer not to."

"You destroyed the artifact the king was holding. What will you do with the ocarina?"

Ganondorf's body was still warm and pliant against her own, but at a certain point his voice had become dangerously quiet and still. A part of her had been afraid of him all this time, and with good reason, but she was beginning to realize that he had been afraid of her as well. And with good reason. Still, she was hurt that he did not yet fully trust her.

"I tried to destroy the ocarina earlier," she admitted, offering the truth without prevarication. "I used the same silver arrows. That magic only came to me in the presence of the Triforce and the Master Sword, so it may not always have the same effect. I think it might also be possible that no one person can destroy the ocarina. But…" She paused to collect her thoughts as she tried to remember the shape of Tetra's pendant. "I think there may be a way to split it into pieces. We should probably ask Link for help."

Ganondorf's body tensed, and she pulled away from him. "What?" she asked. "Isn't that what you want?"

"I don't like it that you had a child with Link."

Despite herself, Zelda couldn't help laughing. "I saw the end of Hyrule, with you trapped in an underwater castle for who even knows how many years, and _that's_ what you're upset about?"

"Are you still opposed to having children?"

 _Oh my_ , Zelda thought. _What a thing for him to ask._ "You're getting ahead of yourself," she said, still smiling. "I haven't even agreed to let you stay in Hyrule."

"How bold of you to assume that it would be my children you'd be having."

"I've found that I've become bolder since I got this Triforce. Do you feel any wiser?"

"Wiser? No. Although perhaps a bit more… _imaginative_."

Ganondorf grinned and tilted Zelda's chin up to meet his mouth. She welcomed his kiss, and her hands roamed over his robes as she thought about the body hiding underneath. Imaginative, indeed. She didn't mind admitting that she'd been imagining a few things herself.

A faint sound caught Zelda's attention, and both she and Ganondorf turned their heads toward its source. Someone was knocking at the door to the sitting room downstairs.

"Your Majesty?" a muffled voice called out. "We've come to help you prepare for the evening."

"I should leave," Ganondorf said, starting to pull away, but Zelda gripped the fabric of his sleeves.

"Stay," she insisted. "I have no desire for it to be a secret that I allow you to visit me here. Besides, I'm a queen now. I can do whatever I want."

"Is that so," Ganondorf muttered, his grin widening. "Then what do you want, Your Majesty?"

Zelda gave herself a moment to envision a future in which none of this had happened. Hyrule hadn't flooded, the Triforce hadn't been split, and she hadn't shot the king. In her fantasy she had never seen Link with the Master Sword in his hand, and she had never confronted Ganondorf. She imagined a world in which she had never been visited by nightmares of a raging beast crashing over the kingdom, and her coronation ceremony had proceeded as planned, with the future stretching in a straight line in front of her as far as she could see. But everything had changed, and she no longer knew what to expect.

"I'm not entirely certain at the moment," Zelda admitted. "But, for the time being, I think I want you to redo my hair so I can show off those hairpins you gave me. Do you think you can handle that?"

"With pleasure," Ganondorf said, tucking one of her hanging sidelocks behind her ear.

"I'd also like you to go downstairs and dismiss my staff, if you wouldn't mind. Please tell them that I won't be wearing a gown this evening."

"Is there any reason you can't tell them that yourself?"

"No, there's no reason at all, except that I want it spread around the entire castle that I've had a private audience with you. In my bedroom. I want them to think I'm currently too preoccupied to meet them."

"Too undressed to meet them, you mean." Ganondorf narrowed his eyes. "What are you planning?"

"I'm simply planning to get the gossip out of the way before it becomes a problem."

"I question the wisdom of sending up smoke where there's no fire."

"Who said there's no fire? The evening isn't over yet."

"Is that an invitation?"

Zelda looked into his eyes and smiled, happy that she was finally able to speak exactly as she wished. "Yes," she said. "It's an invitation."

"I'll consider it."

"Then I'll consider it accepted."

Ganondorf gazed at her a moment longer before heading downstairs. He opened the door this time, rather more loudly than was necessary.

Zelda let out the breath she had been holding and walked to the basin that had been placed next to her dressing table. She splashed her face with water and then regarded herself in the mirror as she patted her skin dry. All things considered, she didn't look half bad. She would look even better once Ganondorf plaited her hair. There was a style her mother wore that she'd claimed had been inspired by the Gerudo queen, and Zelda was certain Ganondorf would know how to recreate it. She imagined his fingers in her hair and shivered with pleasure.

"May the goddess grant me wisdom," she said to herself, blushing at the thought.

Zelda brushed a spot of dust from her trousers and straightened the sleeves of her jacket as she waited for Ganondorf to return. She may be the descendant of a goddess, but she wouldn't let that stop her from becoming the master of her own fate.

She selected one of the rapiers mounted on a stand beside her bed and belted its scabbard across her hips. The weight of the metal felt good on her thigh. Zelda was only a novice swordswoman, but there would be plenty of opportunities for her to develop her skill once she left the castle. Perhaps Ganondorf could teach her a thing or two – and Link could as well, if he chose to accompany them.

Zelda raised her right hand and watched as the golden triangle revealed itself, shining in the sunset. This would be her first night presiding over the court without her father, but Impa and Nabooru and Ruto were waiting for her, and Link and Ganondorf were to be her escorts. Zelda was filled with anticipation. She tightened the straps holding the sword at her waist and prepared to go out into the world where she would meet her destiny as the newest leader of Hyrule.

\- THE END -


End file.
